Through My Eyes
by sweetkakes35
Summary: A new world has opened up and now Jade is trying to solve the puzzle that is Kanda Yuu. Will he see the clear picture before the samurai returns home or will the Colonel be left grasping for the pieces that are slipping through his fingers?
1. Prologue

As he walked down the white cobbled road, Kanda Yuu sneered. Why did he sneer? Because the stupid road was too white, there were no akuma nearby for him to vent on, and he was stuck in the stupid Ark against his will. Then again, since when did Kanda Yuu need a _reason _to sneer?

Since there were currently no reports of Innocence that needed exorcists, and no hordes of akuma that needed clearing out, the higher ups had decided it was well overdue for an inspection of the Ark. Therefore, they had sent out exorcists currently not on missions into the Ark as a sort of exploration team. There were five of them there now: Kanda Yuu, Allen Walker, Noise Marie, Miranda Lotto, and Lenalee Lee. They were to explore and report what they found in a couple of hours, keeping in touch using their wireless golems. That was the reason why Kanda was walking down empty streets with nothing but doors and buildings in sight. Well, he supposed there might have been a tree in the distance but that could very well have been a figment of his imagination. Kanda kept walking and, realizing that part of his exploration was probably figuring out what was behind some of these doors, decided to open one. He picked the next one that he came across and peeked in. Looking inside, Kanda wasn't surprised to find that behind the door was…nothing. Just empty blackness, the same as the time Allen had tried to walk through a random door and almost fell into nothingness. They had all assumed, for the most part, that those were the doors that could be connected to a place but had yet to do so.

Sighing, Kanda moved on, checking every door he came to, his long, navy hair swishing back and forth in his agitation at finding nothing new. His hand unconsciously reached towards his sword, Mugen, grasping the hilt as he wished for something to fight; at least it would make things more interesting. He walked up and down a grand total of three streets with nothing to show for it besides a lot of empty doors and a body that was itching to do more than just walk with no purpose. He would much rather be training; then again, Kanda would rather train than do a lot of things. Finally, Kanda reached a street that wasn't a mirror image of the last three, the difference being that there was an extra door at the end of it. Aside from that, it looked exactly like the rest of them: brown, solid wood with a brass doorknob. After checking all the others, he approached the last door and was surprised to find that there wasn't just black emptiness beyond it, but that it led to a huge circular room. All around the room were more doors, each with a different tiny symbol marking it, simple shapes filled in with a solid color, and above all the doors were bookshelves that were built into the walls and went all the way up to the high ceiling. With a quick glance he took in doors with a green sun, an orange horseshoe, a lavender mountain, and a black star. He couldn't make out the rest of the shapes since those doors were further away. _Che, well maybe I can actually have something to report besides streets full of nothing. Let's see what's behind these doors. If they're empty too, I think I'm going to have to kill someone_, Kanda thought. Since none of the symbols on the doors had any particular meaning to him, Kanda just picked one at random and opened it. Inside was a blinding light. Figuring that nothing would come from just staring at the light, he walked through the door.

~~~~break~~~~

_We finally get a break!_ Tear didn't normally relish in not doing anything, but she and the group she was traveling with had been going nonstop for quite a while. It was time they took a break.The group was in a large, airy room as, for once, there was a slight lull in their routine of constant movement and action. They were in Yulia City and they had just decided to make a treaty between the three lands: the Malkuth Empire, Kimlasca-Lanvaldear, and those in the Qliphoth. It wasn't long before bed and they were trying to decide what their next move would be. A large, oval, oaken table stood in the center of the room and Tear and Luke sat at two of the seats surrounding it. Guy leaned against the long side of the table, his sword carefully moved out of the way, and Natalia stood a small distance behind Luke. Jade stood near Guy at ease, but still in his ever proper posture. They hadn't had the chance to rest in quite a while and were taking the opportunity to recharge. Still, they had only three days maximum to rest in Yulia City before going and presenting the idea for a treaty before the rulers of the other two countries.

"So we have decided to stay a few nights here. Everyone should take that time to rest up and gather anything that we are running low on," said Jade.

"It's good that we don't have anything specific to do tomorrow. We can take a day off," said Tear, and they all nodded their heads in agreement, though Natalia had lost some of her usual spunk. They were quite tired, even if it wasn't evident to anyone else they came across. They were all usually so busy that no one had time to contemplate rest. "Well if that's all, we should get to bed." Tear and Luke stood up to join the rest of the group as they made their way to exit the room. Just as Guy was about to reach the door handle, a bright light engulfed the room. Instantly, all of them were on alert, ready for an unexpected fight, the type of fights they were used to. The next thing they knew, a jigsaw puzzle of bright white pieces assembled before them in the room, which suddenly felt a lot smaller.

Where anyone who had used the Ark before would expect there to be a number, was instead a small pictograph of mountains colored in lavender. The group pulled out their respective weapons: Tear drew her spear, Guy and Luke their swords, and Natalia had moved across the room, first arrow knocked, giving her space to shoot her bow. Jade stood at the ready waiting to see what was approaching before figuring out how to deal with it, being that he could summon his lance at will or fight with fonic artes.

One could imagine the group's surprise when what came through the light was a lone, tall, exotic man dressed in black with a high ponytail and a sheathed sword at his side. He wore a long, black and red coat emblazoned with a silver crest, knee high boots peeking out from under it. His hair was a deep navy and he had bangs which were encased in two long strands of hair that had escaped the ponytail, one on each side of his face, as the ponytail itself fell to his mid waist. The swordsman's eyes widened slightly in surprise as he took in the scene before him; his fingers immediately found their way to his still sheathed sword, an ingrained reaction to the fact that there was danger around him.

"What is this?" the strange man seemed to mumble to himself. His sword was out and he stood in a defensive stance. Kanda's eyes scanned the room taking in possible threats other than what was in front of him, as well as searching for exits and entrances. "Who are you people?" he asked the group of fighters in before him who just stared at, taking in the pure black blade of the specially made sword and the fact that, instead of an assault, they were faced with a single, very confused looking man.

Slowly, Guy stood out of his fighting stance. He looked questioningly at the man in front of them. "And _you_ are?" he asked back at the man.

Kanda smirked. He understood the question they were trying to ask him but answered "Yes." anyway. He could see a confused look in all the faces before him. The first to gain a nuance of understanding was the brunette, military man wearing all green who stood closest to him who slid back into a more at ease pose. Seeing Jade relax, the others began to alleviate their stances, trusting his judgment, though they were still very wary of the strange intruder. Kanda didn't relax for an instant.

The brunette placed one arm behind his back and used the other to push up his glasses. "I assume by that statement that your name is You?" he asked.

"Not quite." answered the swordsman, smugly.

"Ah. Then please enlighten me."

"It's Yuu. Kanda Yuu."

After a moment of silence Luke asked, "What's the difference?"

"The spelling." he retorted.

"Riiiiiight. Well Yuu-"

"It's Kanda," he snapped at the redhead's assumption that he could call him by his first name.

"Kanda. What are you doing here?" Luke finally got out, irritated that this man could already be this infuriating. He didn't even answer the question.

"Where am I?" asked Kanda.

"You are in Yulia City, in the Qliphoth. I haven't seen you before so I guess you're from the Outer Lands?" Tear spoke up while everyone else seemed to be trying to take in the situation. Kanda just gave her a blank stare.

_It will take forever doing it this_ _way_, Jade thought with a sigh. He clapped his gloved hands together with a smile and said, "Okay. Why don't we start by introducing ourselves? I am Colonel Jade Curtiss of the Malkuth Empire. This is Tear Grants, a warrior of the Oracle Knights. Next to her is our bipolar redhead, Luke fon Fabre. Behind him is his servant, Guy Cecil, and behind Tear is our resident princess, Natalia. Now, why don't we all sit down and be civil about this. Come, come. Sit." As he spoke, Jade searched Kanda's eyes for a glimmer of recognition at any of their names. He found none, so either the man was very good at deception, or he truly didn't know of any of them by name or reputation. The group all sat again at the large round table, Kanda reluctantly sheathing Mugen as he moved with them. As soon as he stepped from the vicinity of the Ark door, it disappeared, leaving the room to seem darker without its source of radiance.

Kanda's head whipped around in shock. The Ark door had just_ closed_ on its own! How was he supposed to get home now? No one even knew where he had gone. His only hope now was to find out where he was and, if he could, get in contact with headquarters so he could get some transportation.

"Now why don't we begin by asking where you came from and how you got here?" Jade asked Kanda. Kanda glared at him. He had the unsettling feeling that he wasn't going to like this man. The others apparently noticed that the door had closed, but not realizing that it _shouldn't_ have, they just kept moving forward with the conversation. If they didn't already know about the Ark, Kanda was not going to give them information about the Order that they didn't need. He sat down across the oaken table from the rest of the group.

"This is more Moyashi's deal," Kanda said under his breath. He sighed in frustration. "I am from the Black Order, an Exorcist. If you know what that is, you'll help me out," he said bluntly, sitting back in his chair, maintaining his proper posture. The group, however, had no idea what he was talking about.

"Where is this Black Order based and what is it?" Natalia asked. "I've never heard of it." She glanced around the table and the others nodded in her direction to acknowledge the fact that they hadn't heard of it either. She may not have directly dealt with every organization in her used-to-be kingdom, but she had knowledge of them, and this Black Order was unfamiliar to her. Perhaps it was in the Malkuth Empire then? The brown eyed girl glanced at Jade but saw no recognition in his face either.

"Che. I'm not about to tell you that," retorted Kanda with his signature scowl.

"May I ask why?" Tear approached. It seemed strange to her that no one in the room at all would know of this Black Order place. They had quite a few higher-ups from all the countries of Auldrant collected in the room. Kanda was getting fed up with all the questions. It had just about used up his reserve of patience for the day, not that he had started out with much.

"Because that would be just about the stupidest thing I could do. The only people who know how to get to the Order are the people that work there, and if you don't know what it is, it's obvious that you don't fall into that category. I am not about to lead enemies right to headquarters now am I?" It was one of Kanda's longer speeches and he didn't much feel like talking anymore.

"Well that's odd. How do you recruit more people if no one knows about it?" Tear asked, intrigued.

Kanda sighed. These people were not going to let him go until he told them something. "I didn't say no one knows about it. We have supporters. I said no one knows how to get there unless they work there." By this time, Kanda figured if they were going to attack him, they were not going to do it by sitting across from him and talking. Because he wasn't sure, he adjusted his position in his chair to appear more relaxed. Jade, who was always alert and had his guard up, noticed the change in the newcomer; only the man's outward appearance had changed: he was still expecting a battle.

Jade took mental note of the contradicting body language of the exotic stranger, but would much rather not have a fight in the middle of Yulia City; the damages would be terrible. Inspecting the man, Jade could tell he was an experienced fighter. He could see the ripples of muscles under the sleeves of his long, black coat when the man moved. Kanda's eyes still scanned the room, analyzing any way it could be helpful in a brawl. The way he sat, with his chair not too close to the table so he could get up quickly if he needed to. And his posture. He was as close to a defensive stance as he could be in while remaining seated. Seeing all of this, Jade was sure that if a fight were to occur, it would not necessarily be easy on their part, even with the superior numbers.

As Jade was inspecting Kanda from across the table, Kanda was doing the same. He could tell that though the brunette man who called himself Colonel looked relaxed, he would be the first to react should something unexpected happen, probably followed by the blond man or the long haired woman. None of their names had particularly stuck in his head after he had walked through the door, most of his focus still on finding a way out should he need it. He saw red eyes wandering over him but pretended not to. Let the brunette not realize that he knew.

Kanda took in the odd dress that everyone had on. There was quite a variety, though most of them seemed to enjoy a very complex style that baffled him. The most complex thing Kanda wore was his exorcist coat and that was only because it was required. He kept his eyes on the Colonel, the one who appeared to be the most dangerous of the group, as well as one he was sure he would detest, if he didn't already. There weren't many people that Kanda would ever admit to NOT detesting. The only one of the group wearing simple yet flexible clothes was the man with the short, blond hair who Kanda quickly picked up from the mutterings between them as being named Guy. He hadn't been paying much attention to the original introductions. _What a strange name_, thought Kanda. Why would someone name themselves a noun, much less the noun that described them? It would be like him having named Mugen 'sword'. Aside from the blond, Kanda found the others' clothes all too extravagant. If one were to fight in them, as these people obviously did, then they would just be damaged, so why bother wearing something so high quality?

Finally, after a long, awkward silence, Kanda realize that the woman named Natalia had spoken to him again. "What?"

The girl stood up straighter, miffed that she was just ignored, and took a deep breath. "I asked why you are here. Aside from the fact that you are part of a very secretive group, you haven't explained to us how or why you just appeared in the middle of the room here in Yulia City. You also never answered Tear. Are you from the Outer Lands?" Kanda stared at the woman amazed. He did not think it was possible for a person to say quite so much with as little air as she just did, except maybe a certain one eyed redhead that he knew. He decided to answer her; if he didn't they would get absolutely nowhere.

"I came here on accident. I don't know where the hell_ here_ is. As for this Outer Lands business, you've got me."

Hearing this perked the ears of the older colonel. _Well I suppose if one were not familiar with the Qliphoth they wouldn't really know the term 'Outer Lands',_ thought Jade. _But really, at this point in time, who hasn't heard of them? _Jade had the suspicion that this man was outside of everything they knew. He didn't recognize the Outer Lands in the way anyone from the Qliphoth would. Nor did he seem to know about Yulia City, which everyone in the Qliphoth knew of as well. And had he actually been from the Outer Lands, he should have either been a little more worried or excited than he was, not seeming as if he was tossed into unusual situations all the time and this was just one more to add to the list.

Hearing Kanda's response, everyone's eyes widened. They had all had similar thoughts to Jade's.

"What?" asked Kanda. They were all giving him strange looks now that irritated him. _If they have something to say then just freaking say it!_ Guy leaned forward slowly, hand gliding its way down his side towards the hilt of his sword; an action that Kanda did not miss.

"Where _exactly_ did you say you were from again?"

"Che. Like I said before, I'm with the Black Order. The only thing I will tell you is that we are in England, so just point me in the right direction and I'll be on my way."

Not that long ago, Natalia wouldn't have thought it possible to be this shocked in one day. The only day that compared was a few days ago when she found out she wasn't who she had thought she was in the Kimlascan royal family. They would not say it, but the brown haired girl was sure that part of the reason their group had stopped in the Qliphoth was to give her some time before re-encountering the family she had thought she'd had. "England…" She glanced around the room once more, trying, yet again, for that glimmer of recognition. None. "There is no such place as England."

"What?" Now it was Kanda's turn to be surprised. His face didn't change much but there was a light widening in his narrow eyes. He also didn't like the fact that 'what?' seemed to be becoming his new phrase of the day.

"There is no such place as England." She repeated. Kanda was stunned. What kind of insane place had he walked into? _Of course_ England existed. It had been around since…_forever_! The others saw the look on his face and began muttering between themselves. Finally Jade stood and clapped his hands together, calling for attention.

"Well now that we have all established mass confusion, why don't we go back to what we actually know and work our way from there?" Tear nodded and the others made noises of agreement. Jade turned to Kanda. "Now, is it just possible that this place called England is just known by a different name? What else has it been called?"

"It's just England. Well, it's also called Britain. People who were born there are either English or British. How can you have not heard of it before?"

Natalia stood from the table, crossing her arms. "Because you knew _all_ about the Outer Lands."

_Ouch. She had a point._ "What are the countries around here?"

At this Guy piped up. "Well, there are two main countries: Kimlasca-Lanvaldear, which is where Luke and Natalia are from, and Malkuth, where Jade is from. I was born in a country that was destroyed called Hod and now live in Kimlasca. Aside from down here in the Qliphoth where Tear was born, there isn't much else." After hearing this Kanda knew he was in trouble. Nothing the blond swordsman had said rang even a tiny bell in his head.

"I don't guess any of you would have an idea of how I could have gotten here?" he asked knowing that might just be too much to hope for. After all, they had seemed rather surprised that he had appeared there. Obviously people don't just go around appearing places wherever he was.

"I'm sorry. This is a rather peculiar situation. Nothing we know of could have brought you here from…England. Especially with that bright light you came in," Jade responded.

_Yes, it was too much to ask._

~~~~break~~~~

A/N: So for everyone, this is my very first fanfiction ever. It's been a work in progress sitting on my computer for a while now and I finally got the nerve to post it and see what happens, so please go easy on me. The story takes place mostly in the Tales world but it's not really relevant if you know the layout of the map, however, if you're not familiar with the characters you may want to google them and get a basic idea of the story. Please review if you have any thoughts on the chapter, good or bad. Any insights or comments would be much appreciated! 


	2. Chapter 1

_**Chapter 1**_

Kanda leaned back in the sole chair of the bedroom he had been allotted while he stayed in Yulia City. The room was small but cozy, full of neutral shades and gray tones. It reminded him somewhat of the rooms back at the Exorcist Headquarters, the only difference being that there were things to brighten it up. Wall hangings served their purpose, bringing color to the walls, as soft red and brown tones filled the curtains, bed comforter, and the large rug that covered the floor. Even Kanda's Exorcist coat that hung from a coat rack near the door seemed to add to the room's décor.

After the earlier bickering about where he had come from and how he got there, Tear, who was not the only one getting fed up with their speaking in circles, decided that they should figure out what to do with him now that he was here. This had irked Kanda. He didn't like having no control of what he did, but rather than start a fight with an enemy of unknown fighting ability and with unknown resources, he had let them continue on with the tiny hope that they would become allies and help him figure out a way home. He really didn't like having to rely on other people but considering his situation, there wasn't much else to be done about it. They had decided for the time being that he would stay in Yulia City with them, under guard, until they returned to the Outer Lands where someone else may know more to help him. The entire situation was all very frustrating. He growled, shifting in the chair once more. At least they hadn't taken his sword. He couldn't take the chance that there were no akuma here, wherever 'here' was. Someone in the group had just made sure to alert the guards to the fact that the person they were watching over was armed; his bet was on Tear, the long haired woman. She had seemed uncomfortable around him, more so than the rest anyway. In any case, he wasn't being held prisoner quite yet.

Kanda leaned his head back and gave an internal sigh. Sitting there and thinking was getting him nowhere. He got up and put his coat back on; dinner was going to be served in a little while and he was expected to join them to be introduced to the leader of the city. Feeling something in his pocket, Kanda pulled out his wireless golem. Turning it on, he tried to get a connection but there was no signal. Frowning, he placed the small machine back into his pocket as he buckled Mugen to his side and glanced down at his uniform. Not knowing how long he would be staying in this place, he realized he would need to make some additions to his wardrobe. Between fighting, training, and simple everyday hygiene, he would require at least a couple more sets of clothes. He would have to ask about that at dinner. At the Order, he had never had to worry about things like that. He just tossed out the battle ruined clothes and sent an order for new ones. The least the Order could do was clothe their warriors.

Already mourning the absence of soba that he was sure he would encounter, Kanda walked out of the room, passing the guards stationed there, and down the hall to the large, formal dining room he had been shown to earlier. Kanda's eyes instantly locked onto the brunette male sitting at the table, searching for anything to be wary of. Sensing nothing, Kanda turned his eyes to the rest of the room, noting exits as well as taking stock of the people in it. He found that the women, Tear and Natalia, were already seated, as well as an elderly man that Kanda assumed was the leader he was supposed to meet. Tear and Jade seemed unarmed, not that that counted for much given his knowledge of Innocence and its ability to materialize or change size or shape, but he saw that Natalia had her bow and quiver hung over the corner of her chair in quick reach; at least they couldn't badger him about Mugen. The elderly man saw him and spoke.

"Ah. You must be the newcomer. Welcome to Yulia City," he said with a smile. "Why don't you come join us and sit down," he encouraged, offering Kanda a seat at the table.

Kanda nodded and sat down at Tear's right side, across the table from Natalia and Jade with a respectful 'thank you' to the man. He could feel the others watching him. After a moment Jade asked, "How are you finding your accommodations?"

"It's a room like any other. Should I be expecting something other than a bed?" Kanda stated. He was used to whatever room he got, if he got any at all. Traveling across the world was not always kind.

"I see." Jade absorbed the information, adding it to his growing picture of Kanda. He wondered what kind of traveling life the man before him was used to for him to be expecting so little in the way of accommodations.

Looking slightly nervous about taking her eyes off of him, Tear turned to Jade. "Where are Luke and Guy?" she asked. He shrugged.

"They should be here in a moment." At that the two walked into the room. "Speak of the devils."

"Hey guys. Sorry we're late." Guy strode into the room and planted himself on Kanda's right. Luke sat beside Natalia, to the right of the elderly man who claimed the head of the table. Kanda noted that they, too, kept their weapons on them. He wondered if things were so dangerous here that they needed them all the time and if they were any good with them. Before he could analyze the thought any further, Tear spoke.

"Kanda, this man is my grandfather, Mayor Teodoro, the leader of our great Yulia City. Grandfather, this is the man we told you about earlier. He appeared in the conference room and couldn't explain where he came from aside from the fact that he was in a country called England. His name is Kanda Yuu. So far he does not appear to have any knowledge of Auldrant." The older man stared at Kanda as everyone else watched. If it was anyone _but _Kanda, he may have been intimidated or squirmed under that gaze. But being Kanda, he just stared back, also making his own assessment.

"Hmm. I see. Well, unless you do something to offend myself or my people, you are welcome here."

"Thank you."

"Grandfather, I don't suppose you have ever heard of the Black Order?"

"No I haven't. Why?"

"It's the organization that Kanda says he is from."

"Ah. No, I have not heard of it. For now, let's eat." The meal was served. Kanda, having no say in what they ate, tolerated their hospitality and tried to ignore the fact that they didn't serve the only food he found worth eating. It seemed to be some elaborate meat dish covered in a brown sauce and surrounded with a variety of vegetables. Kanda eyed the plate before him suspiciously, but ate a few bites to be polite. The meal seemed to relax everyone for the most part, enough that the conversations began to flow one after another. Kanda mostly kept to himself, muttering or grunting a comment here or there but mostly keeping tacit. Finally, the talk turned towards him out of curiosity. It wasn't nearly as bad as the interrogation he had suffered upon his arrival. It seemed that the group in front of him just wanted to know more about him, granted, they were still wary of the fact that they didn't know who he was.

"Kanda, what is it like where you come from?" Natalia asked. Surprised to be directly addressed, Kanda looked up from his meal. Nothing, he thought as he happily ignored the still half empty plate, would ever be better than properly made soba.

"Why do you want to know?"

"What were the people like? Where do your people stand politically? Maybe knowing things like that can help us help you."

Kanda took a moment to think about what the classy, short haired girl had asked. Rather than just quipping with a snappy comeback like he was prone to do, he might be able to figure out a way to a place that he knew. Deep green hair and violet eyes floated in his mind for a moment before he mentally cringed and a frown reserved just for a specific redheaded Exorcist appeared on his forehead as Kanda thought of him as well. "Well, the people that I work with are all a bunch of infuriating, over emotional saps." He responded, picturing a particular Allen-shaped bean sprout as well as all the finders. "They're too nice for their own good and some even have problems with martyrdom. Even so, they're all very tough people. Annoying as hell, but when it comes down to it, they put everything into what needs to be done." If any of them repeated a single word of what he had just said, he would murder them in their sleep, and he made sure to tell them, accompanying it with his best glare. Natalia, Tear, Guy, Luke, and even the old man all froze in their seats, apparently having never witnessed a threat the caliber that Kanda's eyes alone could produce. Jade, unshakeable as always, stored the information away for later. Blackmail maybe? "Politically we stand wherever the church stands seeing as we work for them."

"Wait. You work for the church?" Tear asked interestedly, shaking off her ice shell. Kanda nodded. "Tell me about your church," she demanded, thinking to see if it resembled the Oracle Knights at all.

"I work for them. Doesn't mean I know much about them. I definitely don't believe in God if that's what you're asking."

"Then what do you believe in?"

"Che. That's none of your business. It has nothing to do with getting me home." Kanda turned his head sharply to the side and refused to answer. The group, as it was, was unaware that Kanda had already peacefully spoken enough for a lifetime. He did not like to deal with idiots and the questions they were asking were becoming unnecessary. Kanda sighed. This was why he hadn't wanted to be on the Ark. He could have been far away fighting akuma or searching for Innocence. But what happened? He ended up doing reconnaissance in some interdimensional city and found a door that disappeared so he couldn't go back. Why couldn't anything even remotely relating to the bean sprout ever turn out right?

~~~~break~~~~

Allen Walker, Miranda Lotto, Noise Marie and Lenalee Lee were all gathered in the Chief Supervisor's office. Komui had pulled their exploration of the Ark a few hours ago when one of the Exorcists didn't report in as scheduled. What's more, when the others were sent to retrieve him, they could find nothing explaining his disappearance. Kanda Yuu was missing from the Ark. Komui leaned on the front of his desk, a wrinkle on his brow symbolizing deep thought. Lenalee and Miranda sat on the couch displaying various levels of distress. Luckily, Miranda had yet to go on a self pity and lack of self worth rant. She just sat there wringing her hands on her lap. Allen and Marie stood to the side in silence as well.

Allen was worried. Before Kanda had gone missing, he had felt a door being opened somewhere on the Ark. That should not have happened. Allen, being the fourteenth and the musician, should be the only one who could make connections with the Ark and anyplace else. Kanda's disappearance definitely worried him. Especially since Marie mentioned when he stopped being able to hear Mugen's song and the timing matched up perfectly. He decided to talk to Komui about it later in private.

"Well you can all go back to your rooms until I figure out what to do about this. And if you think of anything that may be able to help, don't hesitate to let me know," Komui said to those who filled his office. Nodding in acknowledgement, they filed out. He had been rather surprised to find out that Allen had no knowledge of what had happened to Kanda. He had expected that he would have had some inkling since he was using the 14th's powers. This was one more worrisome thing to worry about, both for Allen and the Ark.

Rather than go back to his room, Allen headed towards the cafeteria to satiate the nagging beast in his gut. He would talk to Komui after he had eaten. He had managed to suppress it while in the office because of his worry, but now that there was nothing he could do to direct that focus, all those rumbles fought for his attention. He walked up to Jerry, the chef who was ever willing to put a plug in the black hole situated somewhere around where Allen's stomach should be, and asked for the usual. After receiving an order that most people could not carry, much less eat, Allen situated himself at an abandoned table, spreading his meal around him while keeping it all within easy reach. About halfway through devouring his mountain of food, Allen heard a familiar voice.

"Hey Moyashi-kun, good to see ya! Just got back from my mission and I'm starving. Anything interesting happen while I was gone?"

Lavi, the ever energetic, redheaded Bookman's apprentice, made his way through the cafeteria to join him. Allen smiled around his mouthful of food and put down his fork to wave at the older boy. Lavi plopped himself down in the seat across from Allen as the white haired boy swallowed.

"Welcome home Lavi. How did your mission go? Did you find the Innocence?"

"Yup! No problem. It just took a little longer than planned because it was hard to get to."

"Well I'm glad that you made it back without too many injuries."

"So what's been going on around here without me to keep you all on your feet?" the redhead asked, hungrily eyeing a plate of the younger boy's food. Allen glared back fiercely, making Lavi look away hastily, before his face gained a mask of concern.

"Actually, there were a few of us who weren't on missions so we were sent to investigate areas of the Ark. We were just called off. Kanda went missing."

"What?" Lavi sat straight up in his seat.

"He just disappeared. No one knows where he went; though I did get the feeling that an Ark door was opened somewhere, but that shouldn't be possible for anyone but me. Komui is trying to gather more information."

"Is there anything I can do ta help? I can't believe Yuu-chan just got lost." For a moment, Lavi pictured a frustrated Yuu-chan wandering the inner workings of the Ark, searching for the way out while brandishing Mugen, before shaking his head and concentrating on worrying.

"I don't know if there is much we can do right now. It's probably best to wait and see what Komui finds out." Allen sighed. He rubbed the side of his head. For a while now, there had been this humming noise that he had been hearing. It wasn't unpleasant, just different. It wasn't distracting at all either; it just gave Allen the feeling that there was something left undone, something he was forgetting. Lavi leaned over Allen, a frown forming.

"Are _you_ okay?" he asked. Allen smiled and nodded at him. Lavi sat back down at the table resting his head on his palm, watching the younger boy. "Well, at least wherever Yuu-chan is, he's probably kicking butt and glaring into oblivion anyone who crosses his path."

~~~~break~~~~

Kanda wished, oh how he wished, that he could whip out Mugen and start kicking some serious brunette ass. Having realized that they really didn't have the extra guard to keep Kanda under constant surveillance, the group decided that one of them would stay with him. And who did Kanda get roped into staying with? None other than the Colonel, Jade Curtiss; the man whose innards Kanda would happily view right now if it meant he would shut the hell up and leave him alone. It seemed to have taken no time at all to figure out what made the Japanese man tick.

"It's not as if this is the worst situation. You could be sleeping on the bed with me. Remember that you chose this option," the Colonel said calmly. He would have never shared the bed willingly but he only offered because he knew the strange man would say no.

"If it was _my_ choice I would not be sharing a room with you." True, he had chosen to sleep on the floor over sharing a bed with the other man, but that wasn't really what was bothering the samurai. He wouldn't be able to get any rest at all with a potential threat in the room. Even if he had his own room, there would still be a threat from all the strange fighters around him, but at least he wouldn't be sleeping right next to it. And it seemed that just about everything -scratch that, _absolutely_ everything- that came out of Jade's mouth managed to piss Kanda off. And of course he could do nothing about it. He had brandished Mugen once and was almost attacked by everyone before they realized it was only a warning threat. Unfortunately, it didn't have the desired affect and he was made a promise by the rest of them that if he did it again he would be locked up and his beloved sword taken.

"Whatever." Kanda sat with his back to the wall and one knee bent, his sword at his side. Should an attack come, he was in the best position to reciprocate. Jade watched the long-haired man for a while before smirking and shrugging.

"Don't get mad at me if you're sore in the morning." Kanda's eye twitched but he ignored the older man's comment. It didn't matter that much anyway because Kanda didn't plan on falling asleep first. He would let the Colonel have that courtesy, then situate himself however he saw fit. "Suit yourself," Jade said before turning of the main light and sitting up on top of the covers of the bed, pulling a book off of the night stand. The brunette sat back comfortably, reading by the soft lamplight, while Kanda, realizing it would be a while before Jade went to bed, rearranged himself so that he could meditate.

~~~~break~~~~

Hours later Jade realized that Kanda was not planning on going to sleep before him. This posed a slight problem since that, too, was his plan. The meditative pose had caused the Colonel to believe that the foreign man was asleep at one point, but the sudden, intentional shifting in position at random intervals proved him wrong. Jade simply did not think that the Japanese man would be able to stay up that long; though looking back at his observations about the man, it seemed to be a rather contradictory thought. After all, he _had_ noticed the exotic man's strong and well maintained build that could only be due to rigorous training and intense discipline. Surely a man like that had mastered mind over matter. Either way, Jade was not ready to leave himself as unguarded as sleep would leave him with this stranger. Turning the page in his book, the Colonel settled in for a long night.

~~~~break~~~~

**A/N: **Hey all, I realized that there was something that I didn't mention in the first chapter. This fic WILL eventually become a yaoi pairing, so if that's not something that you're into, you can stop now. However, this pairing won't really be coming together for a while since I'm one of those subtle writers that likes to take my time building to things. Even so, it may not be very intense as I've never really written scenes like that before. I just thought I should put that out there now so as not to surprise people later. And PLEASE review. As a first time fanfic writer, a lot of my confidence in this comes through reviews. It also helps me take direction with the story.


	3. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2**_

Tear slowly rose out of sleep, her body rousing due to some internal alarm. Getting up, she quietly hummed to herself as she got ready for the day. Leaving her room she encountered a maid who alerted her to the fact that breakfast was going to be served soon. Nodding her thanks to the woman, Tear made her way to the eating area and saw that Guy, Luke, and Natalia were already there. The absence of the Colonel and the stranger they had met the day before was not lost on her. "Good morning Tear," came the polite greeting from those in the room. She nodded her head while giving a good morning of her own. She sat with the others, waiting for breakfast to be served, though by looking around she could tell that the rest of the group had the same question running through their minds: Where are the Colonel and the stranger? Just as Tear was going to volunteer to go and find them, the two walked into the room. They simultaneously sat down and the others watched in amazement as neither of them snapped at each other; they just began putting things on their plates for breakfast, though not without constant frowns of frustration from Kanda and looks of mild amusement in return from Jade. After a moment, Jade looked up.

"Good morning everyone," he said after taking a sip of his coffee. The look on his face was pure bliss, as if the liquid sunshine did more for him today than any other. Tear nodded at him. She was honestly surprised. No one had known how it would go with the Colonel and the newcomer but, of their group, Jade was the strongest and most cunning, and, therefore, the only one they were sure could share a room and take care of the new man should something happen. The fact that Kanda was not about to strangle Jade meant that he was either very strong willed or very mature. If he didn't care for you, the Colonel could be quite cold and condescending, and she could already tell from the previous evening that Kanda had a very volatile temper. Jade was acting strange too. Somehow, he seemed a little slower. _ He looks like he can't focus as well_,went through Tear's mind before she pushed the thought aside. Jade was the most sturdy and reliable of the group. He wouldn't let a lone swordsman take him down.

Kanda stared at the spread of food before him, the smells assaulting his senses. There were two large plates set in front of him, one of sunny side up eggs along with another of crispy bacon. Toast was piled up on another plate further down the table and there were smaller assortments of cheeses, ham, and fried onions with butter and jam on the side. All of it smelled good but none of it appealed to the dark haired swordsman; unfortunately, he needed to eat despite his options and had filled a small plate with food, frowning at the thought of actually placing any of it in his mouth.

"So what's on the agenda for today?" Guy directed to the group, finishing his breakfast off with a last bite.

"Today is going to be a rest day for us. We deserve a break and we have a little time before we have to head for Baticul," Luke answered. Kanda's eyebrow twitched at this and he looked up at Luke.

"So that's your way of saying that we're wasting the day doing nothing?" the threat oozed in Kanda's voice. Luke gulped and opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by Jade.

"Yes. Did you have something against that? Because I'm sure we could keep you busy. There is plenty to do around here." Kanda grunted but did not say anything. He had nothing against working but he was not going to just do the chores implied for these people he didn't even know for no reason at all. Jade smirked and stood up, having finished his plate. "I'll be in my room if anyone needs me."

As the Colonel walked out of the room, Kanda glanced at the remaining strangers. "Che. It seems that I'm going to be stuck here for a while with some free time. Is there anywhere open that I can train?" At this Guy's ears perked up. Perhaps he would now have someone to spar with, not that he couldn't spar with Luke, but Luke was still training and, thus, was on a different level. Besides, it would be the perfect chance to assess the man's skills. "Sure. I could show you somewhere you can train. Are you ready now?" The Asian man nodded. "Then let's go."

~~~~break~~~~

Guy felt the sweat dripping towards his eyes but had no time to wipe it away as a he ducked under a deadly, slicing slash. He tucked his knees in and continued in a roll to put distance between himself and the fierce, navy haired man. Getting to his feet, Guy backed up a little further, half leaning on his side and trying to catch his breath. He stood up straight raising his swordless hand in a gesture of surrender.

"Okay, okay. I think I'm done for now. That was quite a workout," the blond said. Kanda che-d, a habit that was quickly becoming well known to the group, and sat himself down on a side bench. Guy made his way there from the far side of the room and sat beside the other man. Noting the dark haired man was barely winded and had only a slight sheen of sweat one him, Guy frowned a little before wiping the large drops off of his face. "Hey Kanda, can I ask you a question?" Kanda, being drawn out of his post training high, grunted. "You said that you were an exorcist for this Black Order thing right? Somehow I have a feeling that it's not quite what I think it is, so what exactly is it that you, or rather, this Order does?"

Kanda frowned at the thought of even trying to explain something he didn't completely believe in. Not that he wanted to explain anything anyway. But if they didn't know what to do if they came up against an akuma later, it would only make his job that much more difficult.

"There are creatures called akuma. It is an Exorcist's job to find and kill them. We are the only ones who have the weapons to destroy them; that's all you need to know."

Kanda's new acquaintance blinked at him, not sure what to do with the vague yet informative explanation. How was it informative? It explained exactly why Guy had gotten his ass handed to him on a silver platter while the man who did it to him had barely broken a sweat, as could be seen by the sleeveless turtleneck he wore. These akuma things must be rather tough since Kanda was very fit. "Huh," he sighed after a moment. "I see. Well let's get back and get washed up then," the older swordsman said as he got up. The dark haired man, seeming much calmer than when he had arrived, silently followed him. When they finally reached the dining hall again they found the rest of the group still sitting there, breakfast long finished, just talking amongst themselves. Jade seemed to have rejoined the group, still looking tired, but sat back silently. "Hey guys, we're back!" Everyone looked up at the two entering the room. Luke's eyebrows shot up along with him as he quickly made his way to his guardian's side.

"Guy, what happened?" Guy frowned in confusion. Then he looked down and remembered all the cuts and bruises that now littered his body from his spar with the stranger. How he could forget, he had no idea, but after a shower and some rest, he was sure that he would remember it quite vividly.

"Oh don't worry about it. I just got a little banged up in our sparring match," the blond blew it off. Luke still had some slight doubt in his eyes but backed off. Tear however, had a worried look as she stared at the other man and Jade just seemed thoughtful as he assessed the damage. "We were just thinking that we would go back to our rooms and wash up," Guy stated with a pointed look at the Colonel.

"Ah yes. Why don't I accompany you Kanda? I'm sure this place has confused you a bit and you can't find your way back." Jade rose from the table and stalked out of the room without a glance back to see if Kanda was following.

"Che." Kanda gave a last once over the group before turning to follow the bespectacled military man. Kanda had already memorized his way around the areas of the building he had been in and he was almost positive that the man walking in front of him knew that. He just wanted a reason to keep an eye on Kanda's movements, which he couldn't really fault him for. If the roles were reversed, Kanda himself would have probably done worse, like lock them in a room so he didn't have to follow them about.

As they reached the room they shared Kanda pushed his way past Jade and claimed the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. He was fed up of being treated like a kid who needed to be taken care of. At the same time, he didn't like the treatment of a prisoner either, which, as much as they might like to deny it, was what they were doing to him.

Jade just smirked knowingly as the Japanese man slammed the door behind him. Surely the situation was infuriating, especially from what Jade had picked up as Kanda's personality type. Well it was still his job to monitor the man, whether he objected or not, so he took a seat in the lone chair in the room and pulled out his book again from the bedside table, and continued reading where he had left off before they had gone to eat. The water turned on in the shower and Jade settled in. At some point a woman came into the room to drop off clothes, having heard that their newest guest was in need of some clean attire. She placed them on the dresser that lined the far side of the room, _Kanda's _side, before making her way out.

A short while later Jade could hear the water turn off. He placed a bookmark a good three-fourths of the way through the book before he laid it on the bedside table. As he sat back, Jade thought about the situation. They needed to find out more information about this Kanda Yuu character, with or without his cooperation or knowledge. The group of them was just starting to form the peace treaties with the peoples of Auldurant and safely lower the lands. If Kanda's purpose was to throw a wrench into things then that was something they just couldn't allow. For all they knew, he could have been completely lying when he said all that he did before, though from what Jade had seen, the tight lipped man had been genuinely confused. He was torn out of his thinking by the opening of the bathroom door and a half naked Kanda walking out, long fingers gripping the towel wrapped around his waist and another slung over his shoulder as the steam followed him out.

~~~~break~~~~

Kanda rubbed the towel around his neck in his hair to absorb some of the water. When he looked up he saw that the smart ass Colonel was still on babysitting duty, a book by his side and reclined in a comfortable looking chair. A tick mark hit Kanda's forehead as he realized there was no way he was going to get any peace around here with everyone watching him, not to mention sleep. Neither of them had slept the night before, both uncomfortable being unconscious with a potential enemy less than ten feet away. Kanda had meditated for most of the night until it felt painfully close to sleep. After that he had just stared around the room, observing every detail as his eyes roamed over them. When bored and having nothing to do it was surprising just how empty the room seemed. Jade, the bastard, had just read his book all night. He had actually finished what he had started and then started another one, pulling it from a small stack on the night stand that Kanda hadn't seen earlier, not seeming the least bit tired. Anyway, having no sleep the night before was making Kanda a little irked, especially when the cause was sitting calmly right in front of him. The man was just staring at him as he walked out of the shower. Ignoring the brunette, Kanda moved to his side of the room and noticed a new set of clean clothes laid out for him on the low dresser. It consisted of a white, tunic-like shirt that cinched at the wrists, which Kanda scowled at, and a black pair of pants, boxers, and black socks. Grudgingly, he bent over to pick up the underwear, knowing that it was his only option unless he wanted to put back on the outfit he had arrived, trained, and, more importantly, sweated in. As he leaned over, the knot on his towel slid and Kanda had a second to realize that something was wrong before he heard the soft thunk telling him the white coverage had succeeded in its journey to the floor. Mortified, the dark haired man quickly reached for the boxers and slid them on, keeping his back to the Colonel who he knew was still watching him. Kanda rushed to get the rest of his clothes on, not even bothering to dry off properly. Once dressed, he turned back around only to find the Colonel still staring at him. "What?" he asked, irritated again.

~~~~break~~~~

Jade watched as the foreign man walked out of the shower. His deep navy blue hair was now down and flowed around his shoulders and back stopping finally near his butt. Even Jade had to admit that it was rather beautiful. Continuing his inspection of the man, he could hardly miss the fact that Kanda was very fit. Muscles rippled under every movement proving that he was indeed well trained. There was also a tattoo of some sort the seemed to center on his left pectoral muscle and spread out in a random, jagged, squiggled design. The man moved with a fighter's smooth grace as he made his way across the room to the small pile of clothes there. With his back turned to him, Jade found his eyes still on the man. Somehow they had managed to spot trails of droplets sliding down Kanda's back and followed them, watching with interest as they followed the curves of his lithe muscles. Jade's quick, red eyes saw the instant the towel wrapped around the exotic man's waist began to loosen and watched, as if in slow motion, the twitch of realization in the man's back, as the unfettered object made its way to the ground. Red orbs widened at the view of a tight, round ass with trails of water and muscles flowed as Kanda's hand darted out for a pair of boxers and he quickly slid his legs into the cover they provided. Dark, inky hair fanned around him as the swordsman's long, smooth legs were made at home in the black pants the woman had brought. Finally decently covered, the man calmly reached for the white shirt, Jade's eyes not having left his roommate for a moment in his analysis. As he raised his arms and pulled the shirt over his head, Kanda turned back around to face Jade and the sturdiest man in their group was enticed by another droplet trailing its way below the beltline of the stranger's pants. When he noticed that Kanda had stopped moving, he lifted his eyes to the man's face. Kanda was giving him a strange look. "What?" the newly cleaned man asked him, obviously under the impression that he was being scrutinized.

"I was just curious. You said that you were an exorcist for this Black Order. Is it that job that requires you to be so physically trained? Isn't it just getting rid of spirits?" Kanda snorted at this. Akuma were _not_ spirits. They might have a soul attached but no spirit could cause the death and destruction that a single akuma could.

"A different kind of exorcist," he said concisely.

A slight frown made its way to Jade's forehead. "What other types of exorcists are there?"

"Che. Ask Guy. I already explained it to him and I hate repeating myself." Having no change of shoes Kanda sat on the edge of the bed and put on his Exorcist boots. Jade made it a point to remember to ask Guy about the Exorcists. "Is there really no plan for today or is everyone just going to continue wasting time? I want to get back to where I came from and sitting around doing nothing is not helping me towards that end in any way."

"Like we mentioned earlier, today is a rest day for everyone. Probably tomorrow too, before we move on. I don't know what it is that you do as an Exorcist but we have been running around the world and fighting for our lives for quite a while and could use a break."

"Che." Kanda was pissed. As if his very life as an Exorcist didn't revolve around running around the world and fighting for his life, not to mention other people's lives too. Did _he_ ever stop for a rest? No. Not unless he was badly wounded and even then, thanks to his accelerated healing abilities, those times didn't last very long. Kanda had been going on these kinds of missions since he was a child with barely any rest in between. These people couldn't handle it? They needed _rest_? Kanda hated weak people. He had seen how much rest a person could go without when half of the remaining Exorcists fought off a wave of akuma at sea in an effort to make it to Edo. He had seen it when those same Exorcists fought the Noah and the Millennium Earl while already worn out and injured, and once again when they fought the battle on Noah's Ark. And most recently, he had seen how far a person could go, to the brink of death and still fight, when he and a few others had fought off the first level four akuma ever encountered. The Moyashi had been knocked unconscious and still kept on fighting due to the will of his Innocence. The fact that these people thought that they had done something and now had all this free time to rest when he still had a war to get back to pissed, him, the fuck, off. Somewhere in his mind Kanda knew that he wasn't being anywhere near fair but this was just another straw on the proverbial camel's back and he conveniently forgot that those people he thought of were only in those conditions because they were forced into them, and would have benefitted from some rest in between.

Of course, Jade Curtiss, being the clever man that he was, was aware that something had pissed the Japanese man off. What had set him off, and why, however, were beyond him. He could just read the heated anger in the man's eyes, posture, and movements. He watched Kanda pace for a minute, fingering his sleek, black sword, before the man sat down cross legged and began to meditate. Jade eyed the man curiously before shrugging and pulling out some paper and a writing utensil. Sliding his chair up to the small desk, the older man began writing. After all, Emperor Peony had asked for progress reports and the arrival of the foreign man in Yulia City without any knowledge of how was definitely news that his long time friend should know about.

~~~~break~~~~

It was the third day that Kanda was in the large assortment of buildings that made up Yulia City, the third day he sat at the table for breakfast to be served, and the third day that both he and the red-eyed Colonel were about to face with no sleep. Jade did not want to be found lax in 'guarding the newcomer', and Kanda was not going to lower his defenses. Kanda glared at what was placed in front of him. He wasn't quite sure what it was but as long as it wasn't his long awaited soba, he didn't care. It didn't even matter that it was breakfast. Raising his glare from the food that seemed to take it in stride, Kanda saw the Colonel sitting across from him, almost in a daze. The title 'Colonel' was just a little too dignified for him right now seeing as the samurai could tell that he was fighting to not doze off at the table.

"You okay there Jade?" Guy asked as he slid into his seat at the table. The brunette slowly turned his head to face him before staring for a moment.

"Yes," he drawled out, "Yes, I'm fine." Kanda would have smirked if he weren't so tired himself and the action hadn't required so much energy. Eying the food once again, his decision was made. He needed some shut eye before he was too tired to even fight off an attack. A lot of good staying up would have done him then. Standing abruptly, Kanda turned and walked out of the room leaving behind cries of "Hey! Where are you going?" Knowing he was soon going to be accompanied whether or not he liked it he just kept walking briskly. Unsurprisingly he heard quick footsteps behind him, jogging to catch up. The Asian man was slightly surprised when the one to follow wasn't Guy or Jade but instead Luke, the redheaded Duke's son. Considering Jade seemed to be his tail and he had sparred with Guy the two days he had been in the place, he had assumed that one of the two would be his partner again today. Suddenly Kanda stopped in the middle of the hallway, causing the shorter boy to run into him. Kanda shoved him off. He knew that training would make him more tired, that's one of the aspects about it he enjoyed; it helped when he couldn't sleep. The irony being that now he had been training out of boredom and habit and was wondering why he had to fight to keep his eyes open.

Without even looking at Luke, Kanda growled "I'm going to take a nap. Get out of my sight," and stalked off again. Luke frowned for a moment, confused as to why the man would go back to bed when he just got up, before jogging to follow again and not get left behind. When they got to the room he and Jade shared, Kanda walked in and immediately slammed the door in the poor redhead's face.

"I guess I'll just be waiting out here then," Luke said to the sturdy door, and slid down the wall to wait and see if their new guest was as honest and blunt as he seemed, or if he was just biding his time.

~~~~break~~~~

Jade Curtiss, Colonel in the Malkuth army and well known advisor to Emperor Peony, found himself pulling out of a daze for the umpteenth time that morning. Two days and nights without sleep were ridiculous. Even in the roughest of situations he was at least able to afford a _few _hours of shut eye. Wasn't the point of their stay to get rest? He supposed he should count himself lucky that he wasn't doing hard labor during the day too. Finally fed up, Jade decided that he needed some form of sleep before things got even worse. Everyone was already noticing changes in the way he acted. He only needed a couple of hours.

With a sigh he got up from the table, adjusting his glasses. "I think I'm going to go take a nap," he directed towards the group, not realizing he had interrupted something Natalia had been saying. The girls looked up at him and nodded their acknowledgement; Guy just watched him closely until Jade had slipped out of the room as casually as possible and disappeared into the depths of the building where the living quarters were.

~~~~break~~~~

Kanda lay on the bed, leaning back slowly, and enjoying the feeling of the cushion beneath him. The past few nights that annoying smart ass, Jade, had claimed it and, as much as he might want to, Kanda was sure that picking a fight with the man would not help his situation much. It was infuriating and he was very close to just snapping and taking all of them out. After sparring with Guy, Kanda was pretty confident that he could hold his own against most of them, if his assessment of Guy's ability to fight compared to everyone else was correct, and it let him have a good reason to beat someone up. It was only Tear that he was unfamiliar with. Still, he had seen Jade with a spear at the end of a sparring match between him and Luke, but somehow had a feeling that there was more to him than just weapons combat.

Clearing his mind as if meditating, Kanda's head had only been on the pillow for about a minute when he heard Luke's voice outside of the door and the sound of the portal swinging open. Royally pissed at the fact that someone even dared interrupt his sleep Kanda shot out of bed. His anger only deepened when he saw that it was Jade dragging himself into the room. A red head peeped into the room saying "I guess I'll leave him to you then," and shutting the door behind him. Kanda could hear his footsteps retreating down the hall.

"Why are you always here?" Kanda grit out. He would almost take Lavi over this constant presence. He wouldn't be getting any sleep now. Storming off to the corner of the room furthest from the bed, Kanda sat on the floor leaning his back against the wall. It gave him a better feeling of protection. Jade looked up at him for a moment before stalking over to the bed and plopping himself down ungracefully. He glanced at Kanda and frowned.

"Are you comfortable enough to not need your sword now?" Kanda's eyes darted to Mugen that stood against the far wall.

"Che. I don't need Mugen to beat you." Jade raised his eyebrow.

"You named your sword?" Silence was his answer. "Well I can certainly say that it's not the strangest thing I've come across," he continued, thinking of his childhood…acquaintance, Dist the Reaper.

"It's not strange," Kanda grit out defensively.

"Compared to an old acquaintance of mine, I suppose not. He has a flair for the dramatic and flies around in a large, pink armchair. The fact that he hasn't been caught yet is still baffling to me." Kanda raised an eyebrow at the man before a thoughtful expression came over Jade's face and a faraway look filled his crimson eyes. "You really aren't from this world are you?"

"Not from this world? What do you mean?" Jade didn't answer for a moment as he sat up on the bed to face the swordsman.

"It's been a thought of mine for the past few days. That is the only way that you could not know so much and speak of such foreign places. Nothing has sounded familiar at all to you. It can't be ignorance or a coincidence."

"How can you calmly spout that? I'm from Earth just like everyone else." Kanda rolled his eyes at the older man but froze when he saw that the other man was staring at him with widened eyes. "What?"

"I'm not sure what you mean by 'Earth'. Our world is called Auldrant." Kanda stared at Jade, dumbfounded.

"There is no such place," he stated.

"How exactly did you say you got here again?"

"…I don't know."

"How do you not know?"

"I just don't," Kanda was getting frustrated. Where the hell was he? "The Order, it has Exorcists like me. We face machines called Akuma and try to take down the Earl who controls them. We were working on something to that end when I found myself here."

"Wait. So you have nothing to do with getting rid of spirits?" Jade seemed confused.

"The Akuma machines have a human soul bound to them as a source of energy. When it is destroyed the soul is released, so I suppose if you want to call them spirits, you can."

"Huh. That does not sound like anything we have come across in Auldrant; and we've been all around," Jade muttered. He looked as if he had found a new puzzle and was excited to try and put the pieces together and see the picture.

Kanda looked up at the man on the bed. His curiosity was peaked. "What exactly did you do around the world? You said that you had to fight," he finally asked.

Jade smirked at him. "That is nothing for you to be worried about. They were some very delicate matters." Jade could practically _see_ the anger marks forming on the younger man's forehead.

"I'll show you what's fucking delicate when I mutilate your face!" he spat. The threat lost some effect however when Kanda made no move to get up from where he sat across the room. "Fucking useless."

Jade thought for a moment. "Why don't we both try getting some sleep? It's been a while since either of us has slept and it is going to show, either now or later."

"Che! As if I would be able to sleep with someone like you within fifty miles of the place!" Jade leaned back against the bed with a sigh. It seemed like his days of rest were over. He was getting too old for this.

"I'll tell you about our travels if you talk about the people at this Black Order."

~~~~break~~~~

**A/N:** Hey all! Sorry for the later update. I have a feeling that with classes the way that they are right now, it might become a temporary norm, but I'll try to keep the chapters coming! I hope you enjoyed this one and, as always, feel free to drop off a review. There're going to be some fun times ahead with Kanda and Jade. I really enjoy writing their interactions =)


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Lavi shifted restlessly on the couch beside the white haired Exorcist. It was evening on the second day and there was still no word as to what had happened to Kanda. He really hoped that the supervisor had discovered something. "Why are we here Komui?"

The Chinese man stared out from behind his desk at the group in front of him. He had called Lenalee, Allen, Lavi and Marie to his office. He couldn't side track all of his Exorcists just to find one who went missing but he had a feeling that these four would have objected if he left them out of it so he'd just bypassed all the hassle and called them in from the start. He cleared his throat.

"We still don't have anything solid," he could see some hope leave their faces, "However, we have received reports of the Noah being more active starting around the same time you guys were inspecting the Ark, which is, of course, the same time that Kanda went missing. We don't know what they are planning but the majority of the run-ins were with Road. 'She would appear in her dimensional doors, search around, and then return,' seems to be the synonymous report from all the Finders. As far as we can tell, no one knows what it is that she's searching for but it can't be good."

At this, most of the Exorcists had confused expressions on their faces. What could the Noah of Dreams possibly be searching for? Everyone already knew that both the Noah and the Exorcists were searching for the Heart, but popping up in random places hardly seemed like the way to go about it. The little niggling in the back of Allen's mind began to get more intense. He couldn't help feeling that there was something left undone, the feeling one gets when they know they've left a pot cooking on the stove or a door left unlocked. He frowned, wondering what this feeling meant. Somehow he could tell that it was connected to the Ark but beyond that it was a mystery.

"We're still trying to get what information we can but it's coming in slowly," continued the weary Supervisor. "If anyone knows anything that may be of use, we would go to great lengths to get back any of our Exorcists so let me know." As he looked up the Chinese man saw Allen Walker raise his hand. Eyes widening in surprise he nodded his permission for the boy to speak.

"I don't know if this is connected to what is happening but it started around the same time. There seems to be an ever present feeling in the back of my head that I've forgotten something in the Ark. There may be something _in _the Ark. Maybe if we search where Kanda was last in contact and his assigned area, we'll find something." Komui took this into consideration for a moment, tilting his head to the side.

"The problem with that being that whatever it was that was in there, _Kanda_ couldn't handle, and he's one of our best Exorcists. How many people would be willing to go on a mission like that?"

Four hands were instantly raised. Komui smiled inwardly at the bond between the Exorcists, so strong that they would risk their lives for one of their own. He nodded.

"Alright, but I'm not taking any chances; we don't need more missing Exorcists. Split into two groups then, and cover the area that Kanda was supposed to get to; Lavi and Marie, Allen and Lenalee. You will leave in one hour, and make sure to keep in contact. Dismissed." They all rose with a lighter feeling; at least now there was something that they could do. Allen, the last one to leave the room, felt a firm grip on his shoulder and turned. A dark aura spoke to him. "Now don't go getting any funny ideas about my Lenalee. I'm sending you with her for protection but I'm going to watch everything you do on Tim. If you step one toe out of line, I already have an army of Komurin ready to destroy you." Allen shivered as things suddenly got brighter, "So good luck!" and he was shoved out of the office and a door was slammed in his face. The white haired boy sat there for a minute before remembering that he had something to do and hurrying back to his room.

~~~~break~~~~

"Ne, Earl. I can't find it anywhere!" a short, spiky haired girl whined as she spun her favorite umbrella in a circle. "I know that something in the inner dimensions has been opened but I just can't seem to find it." She slumped in a nearby chair pouting, holding the umbrella out before her and pulling the pumpkin face at the end into a wide grin. A large man with an enormous top hat and yet even bigger smile looked over at her, glancing at the other person in the dark room quietly reading in a corner.

"Now Road, if what you've said is true then this could be a perfect chance, both to create a new horde of my precious akuma and to hide the Egg out of reach of the Exorcists. You need to find this place. Take Tyki-pon with you to help you with the search." The figure in the corner looked up in surprise, his long, dark, wavy hair brushing his shoulders even with a hair tie holding it up. He gave the Earl a 'seriously?' look before marking his place in the book and standing up. The girl brightened and jumped on the Earl's back, almost knocking off his overly large top hat.

"All right!" She turned her head in the Earl's shoulder to face the finely dressed man, golden eyes locking on their reflection. "We're going to be in my room Tyki. That way if something else happens I can feel it and find it faster."

The man stared at her while fixing the sleeves of his dark suit. "And what makes you think that something else will happen?" he asked her calmly. Road smirked.

"Because I'm sure it was those Exorcists, and they never know when to stop for their own good."

~~~~break~~~~

Allen was aware that the nagging feeling in the back of his head was getting stronger as they searched. It had actually gotten worse as soon as he and Lenalee had set foot in the Ark. Now it sat almost like an intense itch that he couldn't scratch. Hearing a sigh beside him, he turned to his friend. "What's wrong Lenalee?"

She frowned a little. "Are we really going to find Kanda searching like this? The Ark is huge and all the streets look the same." The young general had to agree. There had been almost nothing to differentiate the past few streets they'd been on from one another.

"Even if he didn't like this job, Kanda wouldn't have run off or anything unless there was good reason, so it's a safe bet to search these areas where he was assigned first."Lenalee's face found a small smile and they kept walking, turning onto another whitewashed street.

"I suppose you're right. I hope Lavi and Marie are having better luck."

"If this annoying feeling in the back of my head is anything to go by then we must be getting closer." After Allen had mentioned this feeling to Komui and the others in the meeting, it had seemed stranger to him because of the time of its occurrence lining up with Kanda's disappearance so well. "It's like I know that there is something that I've left forgotten somewhere but I can't recall what it is."

"That must be frustrating." The younger boy hummed in agreement.

They had split up and begun opening doors on the street when Allen heard a soft exclamation behind him followed by an "Allen look!" Lenalee was pointing to a door at the end of the street, the only slight difference in appearance from all the other streets. Making sure to shut the door that he was in the process of searching, he moved down the road with his partner to examine this 'new' door. From the outside it looked the same as all the rest; a solid wooden door with a brass doorknob. Allen slowly reached out and turned it, hoping that this would be what they had been searching for. And for once, the door didn't open into nothingness; it led them to a white, circular room with shelves covered in books going as high as the eye could see. Surrounding the base level were more doors. The only difference was that each of these had a small marker on them, a shape of some sort filled in with a single color. Looking around the room, both Exorcists realized that no shape or color was repeatedly matched together.

"What do you think this is?" the Chinese girl asked.

Allen frowned in confusion, never having known that there was a room like this in the Ark. "I don't know but we should probably contact the others so they know where we are. If the same thing that happened to Kanda happens to us then someone else will know." The girl obligingly took out her golem and attempted to make contact with Lavi and Marie, and her brother Komui. The golden golem, Timcampy, chose this moment to work its way out of Allen's Exorcist jacket, making itself known, and settle on his head as if to say 'I'm here but I'm taking a break'. The young general smirked thinking that Tim had the right idea. At the very least, he could record what they saw.

"All right. Komui said that we should proceed with caution once Marie and Lavi catch up with us," Lenalee said, hope in her voice as she slipped her golem back into her pocket. It was obvious how much she wanted to find Kanda, not that Allen didn't want to as well; he could just anticipate the insults and death threats that would come his way once the resident grouch was found. Allen leaned back against the frame of the door to wait for the other two Exorcists to arrive. As he glanced around the room again he noticed that a certain door kept drawing his attention; it had the symbol of three mountains colored in light lavender.

"Oi! Moyashi-chan, what are you staring at?" a voice snapped him out of his reverie. Walking towards him and Lenalee was his redheaded friend followed by the looming Marie. Lavi came to a stop before the two whi were waiting with a wide grin on his face and glee shimmering in his single emerald eye. "Lenalee told us you guys found something?"

"We did, but we're not sure what it is. We just didn't want to disappear the way that Kanda did," the male Exorcist answered. "But why do you look so ecstatic Lavi?"

"Are you kidding me? How often do you get the chance to rescue Yuu? If you're in a regular battle, he'll claim that it was some sort of fluke or won't admit to it, but now there's no way he can deny that we had to go and save his butt!" Allen shook his head, hearing a giggle coming from Lenalee.

"Well let's go check this room out." And with that the group entered the large circular room. Lavi instantly took everything in with his Bookman's eye and Marie listened for anything unusual while Lenalee and the young general physically examined the room.

"Is there something bothering you Moyashi-chan? You keep staring at that particular door." The redhead had been watching the young Exorcist. At regular intervals, the white haired boy would turn to stare at the door with lavender mountains on it. He was even so entranced that he didn't respond to Timcampy butting him until the golem got tired of being ignored and used its teeth to get attention. He seemed to have to pull himself out of his daze to provide an answer.

"There's just something about this door…" he reached a gloved hand towards the symbol. "I think this door is the reason behind the feeling I've been having." Before anyone could stop him, Allen reached for the knob and opened the door. A blinding white light filled the opening and they all stared in wonder.

~~~~break~~~~

"Hah! I knew it would only be a matter of time. Let's go Tyki." The small girl shot up from where she had been sitting cross legged on the floor and bounced over to her uncle, latching onto his arm. "C'mon! Before I lose sight of it again!" The tall man sighed and dragged himself out of the chair he was sitting in, an interesting maneuver with a small person attached to him. Before them appeared a heart shaped, lavender and black checkered double door, with a mountain shape on top. The spiky head tilted to the side, surprised. "Well that's new." With a creak it opened and the two mismatched figures walked through.

~~~~break~~~~

Kanda was happ…no, that's not right. Kanda wasn't nearly as annoyed as he had been the past three days. The group was finally leaving this 'Qliphoth' place and heading somewhere where he could hopefully find someone a little more useful. He still wasn't too sure what they meant by the Outer Lands but if it could help him then he didn't really care.

They were in some sort of ship. A plane was what Guy had called it. He was sure that the word was supposed to mean something to him but all he knew was as long as he didn't look out the window, he was fine. Kanda didn't have any aversion to heights but it only made sense when he was at that height due to his own power or something that he could explain. This just floating thing unnerved him. After what felt like forever, but was surely no longer than a half an hour, Kanda finally saw clean air and sun shining through the windows. He wasn't sure what they had been in before but there was a purple haze sky and a dark acid sea stretching for miles in every direction. Kanda hoped that they were close now that there was at least one familiar thing in this world, even if it was as insignificant as the sky and clouds. At this point, the only other familiarities he had were his Exorcist coat and boots, which he donned, Mugen, and his golem, which was hidden away in his coat. Annoyingly, he was still wearing the white tunic he had been given. It itched and was much looser than he was comfortable with and he bit back his frustration.

"First stop, the Order of Lorelei in Daath." Guy's voice resonated through the ship as it turned towards the west. At the Japanese man's questioning brow, he explained, "We have a friend named Ion who's there right now. We need his help to make our peace treaty. He's kind of a respected neutral party to both countries." Jade had explained to Kanda about their current mission, to make peace with the two countries on their planet and the Qliphoth before starting a plan to lower the Outer Lands. It sounded ridiculous to him. Peace was just a far off thought with the war with the akuma still in progress and the lowering of the land just sounded like a made up fairy tale. Jade had explained it on one of the previous nights when still neither of them had slept, both insisting that they could not while still in proximity to the other, though Jade seemed to be giving in slightly on that front. Instead, the two stubborn men ended up talking to each other all night. Well, Kanda had never really been partial to talking much and conceded to doing most of the listening. Three nights and going on the fourth day; it was definitely taking its toll on the two.

"It's about time. I know Ion said he had business to attend to here but this is more than a little out of our way," Luke stated from his seat behind Guy, "It's almost the complete other direction." Natalia gave him a small glare of disapproval.

"Luke! You know that he has his duties as the head of the Church and with reading the fonstones. We should be grateful that he can help us at all. It will make things run much smoother." Hearing this argument irked Kanda; he did not want to think that this little trip of theirs was going to take any longer than it needed to.

Natalia was still nervous about seeing King Ingobert again, the man she was once so sure was her father, even if she refused to show it. She still remembered the words Asch had spoken to her before they left for the Qliphoth, _"Someday, when we're grown up, let's change this country. I didn't say that because you were a princess."_ Those words had meant more to her than the russet haired man had realized. Their promise from long ago still rang in her heart, and it was those words that gave her the strength, as someone with a love of Kimlasca, to face King Ingobert and plead for this peace treaty.

They started their descent and Kanda unbuckled himself, not wanting to be held back by the restraint any longer, whether or not it was supposed to save his life. There was a small jarring as the plane finally landed on the ground and everyone prepared to get off. As Kanda took in his surroundings he noticed that they seemed to be in a city surrounded by forest. There was a large white building in the distance but he didn't have the opportunity or focus to see more than that as they began moving once more. His eyes were tired. Much of the forest around him was a blur.

They had only walked partway into the area of town that looked to be more central when a shout stopped them. "Colonel! Hey Colonel, are you guys here to pick up Ion?" The voice belonged to a small girl with large pigtails running in their direction from the crowd ahead. She wore a pink dress with a large tunic-like throw over that was white with black designs. To Kanda it just looked like random squiggles but he supposed they were deliberate. Jade raised a hand to his face to adjust his glasses, which hid the tired rings beneath his eyes.

"Hi Anise. Yes, we are here to get Ion. Can you find him and get ready to go please?" Anise stopped in front of the group with a confused expression. Her eyes ran over all of them, stalling on Kanda, and settling her gaze upon the military clad Colonel taking in his less than perfect posture and catching the well hidden yawns.

"Who is that dark haired man with the sword and what is wrong with the Colonel?" the young girl asked. Surprise flitted across the faces of the unaddressed members of the group.

"What do you mean Anise?" The doll attached to the girl's back whirled with her as she turned to meet Tear head on.

"I mean that I've never seen the Colonel that exhausted before. He's even got bags under his eyes. He's the one who's always telling me that a warrior must be well rested and prepared to take on anything, so why is he barely standing on his feet?" Everyone turned to stare at the man in green. He did seem to be wavering a bit.

Somewhere in the back of his mind Kanda was offended that no one noticed that he was exhausted too but he was too tired to care. I must have meant that he hid it well. He was analyzing the girl in front of him. From what he had heard, it sounded like she was supposed to be some sort of fighter as well but he just couldn't figure out how. She was so small and didn't look to have the physical strength to do anything yet she also carried no weapon that he could see, only a small stuffed animal on her back.

"Hey Jade, are you okay?"Luke finally asked directly. The red eyed man had to finish yawning before he could answer. Seeing him yawn, Kanda couldn't help but do the same, quickly covering it with a hand.

"Well now that you ask, Kanda and I both haven't slept in about three nights so we're a little tired. If we could just get on with this treaty thing, it would be greatly appreciated." The others stared at him. How could they have not noticed that neither of them had slept? How often did Jade say the word 'thing'? Surely there had been signs. Perhaps it was just the fact that they were all _supposed _to be resting for those days that they just assumed that Jade was too. Tear faced him angrily.

"What did you do? Why did neither of you sleep? What were you going to do if we got into a fight and you couldn't focus? We would be relying on you to cover our backs not realizing that you were only half aware." She could see that the man was at least awake enough to feel bad. He squinted at her as if to bring her into focus but was interrupted by another yawn that the navy haired man again responded to.

"I'm sorry Tear, you're right." And that statement alone let them all know what state the red eyed man was in.

Now that the situation was figured out, Anise went back to her other question. "So who is Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome over there? Is he another rich duke? Can I marry him?" The girl's eyes lit up at the thought. Kanda scowled at the very thought of marrying someone her age much less anyone at all. She couldn't be any older than twelve. Who did this girl think she was? The only thing keeping him from mauling her with Mugen was the fact that she did not instantly think him female, an annoyingly common first reaction. It might have also had something to do with the fact that he wasn't sure he could make it the few feet from him to her, but that was a thought that would stay in the very back of his mind; he could do _anything_ if he wanted to.

Tear braced a hand on her cocked hip while holding the other up as if serving a tray of food. "Now that's quite the story. Maybe when we have more time." Anise bounced.

"Well Ion is about to read the fonstones today for the public so we have some time. These two can take a nap while we wait and you can catch me up on what's been going on since we left you. C'mon, let's head to the cathedral."

At this the brunette's head shot up and things seemed to right themselves for a moment. "He won't sleep as long as any of us are with him. That's why neither of us have gotten any sleep yet; we've been sharing a room," he forcedly articulated, referring to the man with the midnight blue hair.

"Well we have plenty of rooms and if he needs to be guarded we have a few we can spare to stay outside of his room," came the young girl's quick reply. As the group started walking, Jade had to lean forward to give his body a jumpstart in the right direction while Kanda was working hard on placing one foot in front of the other and keeping his balance. They'd both given up on trying to see as the many yawns between them kept causing their eyes to water. They just concentrated on the fuzzy figures that they hoped were the rest of the group. Kanda kept his hand on Mugen's hilt, more to keep his arm from just drooping than in any sort of wary readiness.

They made it to the large doors of the cathedral before Jade almost walked into a wall, stopped only by the blond. "It might be a good idea for us to guide these two to their beds," Guy decided. He pulled one of Jade's arms across his shoulders to give support and motioned for Luke to do the same for Kanda. The dark haired man didn't walk into a wall but he stared up at the doors of the cathedral for so long that he almost fell backwards. The entire situation might have been funny if it didn't potentially interfere with their plans for the treaty and stabilizing the core of the planet, and Ion couldn't be away from Daath forever. They followed Anise to the resting chambers. Guy took the older man into the room the younger girl stopped next to, seeing Luke leading the samurai to the room she pointed at. The man could swear that he had heard small snores coming from the bespectacled man he carried earlier but no sooner than they entered the room Jade's head came up and his red orbs locked on the bed. He left the support of the young guardian and practically threw himself onto his new haven. The position didn't look all that comfortable to Guy but if he were as tired as the two stubborn men had to be then he was sure that anything would seem as perfect as newly fallen snow.

In his room, Kanda's personal pride made a comeback and he forced himself away from the supporting redhead, stumbling his own way to the bedside. It was ingrained in him, probably for the best, to plant Mugen at his bedside within easy reach, the guard holding it up against the side table. Had he not unbuckled it, Kanda had no doubt that he would have been sore in an interesting way when he woke. He plopped his exhausted body on the bed before finding something poking into his head just enough to keep him from sleep. Reaching his hand behind his head he pulled out his hair tie and threw it to the wooden side table before abruptly slipping into a deep sleep.

~~~~break~~~~

"Wow. They're both out like lamps, but we really need to wake them up if we're going to make it anywhere near Baticul today." Dark hair pulled back into two pigtails leaned over Jade who was still clad in his black and green military uniform. It couldn't be pleasant to sleep in that thing. A mischievous grin came over Anise's face as she pulled a feather from who knew where. "We could have fun with this!" Natalia and Guy, who did _not_ want to see what an annoyed Jade who was just ripped out of a three hour sleep by a feather was like, backed as far up as they could while still remaining in the room. Softly Anise waved the feather so it just tickled the brunette man's nose. She was rather disappointed when she got no reaction; apparently the man was in that deep of a sleep. Pouting and crossing her arms over her chest Anise whined, "It didn't work."The other two in the room hid relieved breaths.

"Let's just wake him normally Anise," Natalia suggested.

"Well you can do that. I'm going over with Luke and Tear to try it on this Kanda character. He sounds interesting." And with that the girl was out the door before Guy could warn her that that was probably far from the best idea. _Well he's probably only that menacing when he's fighting,_ he tried to reason. Then he heard a scream from the next room.

~~~~break~~~~

Kanda was dreaming. At least, he thought he was. He was in that place where everything is black but you can tell that you're asleep anyway. Just as he was phasing out of that into an even deeper sleep he sensed something close to his body; a person. He couldn't remember where he was. If he was back at headquarters then he would murder whoever came into his room just for being there, but if it was a mission then it could only be an akuma. All the Finders and other Exorcists knew not to approach him when he was sleeping and would resort to calling him or throwing random objects at him to wake him up. So the only answer was that he attack the body near him. As soon as he felt something softly under his nose he fought the urge to sneeze while swiftly diving for Mugen and unsheathing it, the point of the blade in the opponent's face.

The next thing to fall over him was an ear piercing screech and as he opened his eyes he saw that the akuma still hadn't changed from its human form. It must have been an akuma since he was not in his room at the Order. It was dressed like a little girl with dark pigtails and wisely held perfectly still in the face of his Innocence. He frowned when he realized there were two other people in the room, mentally chastising himself for not noticing them sooner. Kanda shook his head to hopefully clear the slight fog left over from sleep and his unbound hair fell around him like spilled ink. Adjusting his grip on Mugen's hilt Kanda ran two fingers over Mugen's blade to invocate and readied himself for a finishing strike. Raising the glowing sword and bringing it down in a flash, sparks flew as another blade intercepted the blow.

"Kanda! Snap out of it and wake up!" He was confused at that. Wasn't he already awake? The akuma had made sure of that. Kanda glanced at the face of this new opponent and vague recognition flitted through his head. He had seen that blond head before with those blue eyes and was familiar with this sword style that snaked its way in and blocked his strike. Suddenly his eyes widened and he lessened the amount of force he put into his attack, not stopping completely. He didn't want Guy's sword in his face thank you.

"What's going on?" Kanda finally asked after a long moment of silence. Guy released a held breath and sheathed his blade before answering.

"Anise here thought that it would be funny to wake you up by tickling you with a feather and decided to try it before I could stop her." The blond faced the young girl who was still in shock and had retreated to a silent Tear who stood in the doorway. "See Anise, this is why we don't go playing with people like that. There are crazy swordsmen out there raging in their sleep! You have to watch out for these raging sleepers!" Brown eyes lost some of their shock and caused a little snicker, which was the point of his crazy statement. Kanda's eyebrow twitched. He had pegged Guy as some sort of strange cross between Lenalee and Allen; he was sensitive to things around him (the Japanese man especially) but was still willing to poke fun at people. This of course meant that, while able to be in the man's presence most of the time and not constantly have the urge to snap his neck, he still had the ability to piss Kanda off as bad as the Moyashi sometimes, and that was saying something.

"Oi, you shut up. That still doesn't answer why everyone is in my room; it was bad enough with just that red eyed bastard. If that brat got hurt trying to wake me up then it's her own fucking fault. Anyone who comes within a three foot radius of me when I'm sleeping is specifically asking for death." Another silence. Luke made his way into the room having heard the commotion. When he took in the scene before him, he paused.

"So…" Luke filled, "what's with your sword glowing?" Kanda glanced down at Mugen and saw that it was still invocated. Deactivating it he slid the pure black blade back into its sheath until he heard the click of it locking with the guard.

"It's my Innocence," the samurai huffed as he stalked to the bedside table to grab his hair tie and pull his glossy locks back into a high ponytail. Every girl in the room envied the ease with which his hair obeyed his will and maintained perfection. The men were all stunned that someone so beautiful who could make putting his hair up so graceful could also be the violent, foul mouthed swordsman from earlier. "Damn it! Why is everyone still here and why are you all staring?" Kanda was getting sick of all the random yet conspicuous stares the members of this group continued to give him. One would think they had never met someone from another world who was such a sourpuss and hated pretty much everything about everyone, threatened them, and had the fighting ability to back it up. Kanda paused, thought about it, and came to the conclusion that no, it was still their fault.

"And what is this Innocence? I thought it was just a regular sword?"

The glare that those dark pools directed at Luke could have easily burned through glaciers. The redhead gulped. "It's what allows me to kill the akuma. Now stop asking me questions." At this, many eyes seemed to light up. However, deciding that this really wasn't the time, Tear redirected the conversation. They needed to get moving.

"Well we were trying to wake you for a reason. There was really no need to bite everyone's head off-,"Tear started to explain.

"I'll bite off whatever heads I want. You people piss me off," the now very unwillingly awake man snarled.

"Both Ion and Anise are ready to go now," the woman continued as if Kanda's comment was never made. Even trying as hard as he might, which wasn't very hard, Kanda couldn't keep the snide comments, snarls, and condescending tones from his voice over the past few days. Most of the group had figured that it was just his personality and gone from there. Tear just chose to ignore what she considered Japanese word vomit.

"Then what the hell are we waiting for? Let's go." Tear sighed and Guy shrugged, leading the way out of the room. He grinned as they all marched out to the plane, ready to go.

"Next stop: Baticul."

~~~~break~~~~

Road stepped out of her doorway and made sure to open Lero should she fall. Since she had never been to wherever she was going, she wasn't too sure about where she would end up. Her Uncle Tyki could reject the air beneath him so she didn't worry about him falling at all. The two found themselves in a large room, surrounded by varying shades of pink and purple. It was almost sickening. In the center of the room was a person sitting on a large armchair, one leg crossed over the other, seemingly in very deep thought. The man himself wore purple pants and a skintight black shirt with a mane of pink in a ring around his neck. He had shoulder length, pink hair and wore a pair of glasses. The man must have been quite absorbed in his thoughts for he didn't notice the arrival of the two newcomers.

Road smirked as she pulled the umbrella closed and Tyki settled on the floor of the room, glancing around. Grasping the wrist of one hand with the other behind her back, the indigo haired girl spun in a circle taking everything in, before approaching the man in the chair. She made sure that she looked human before speaking and drawing his attention. Better not to scare away the first person she met in a new place. "Hello," she said in a sweet voice. "My uncle and I seem to be a little lost. Could you tell us where we are?"

The man shook himself out in surprise before locking his gaze on them. "Who are you and how did you get in here?" he asked, frowning. The spiky haired girl just smiled wider. "It doesn't matter; I can't be bothered right now. I'm thinking," he said dismissively. Road sidled up to the side of the man's armchair, folding her forearms over each other and leaning on it to get as close as possible to the side of the man's face.

"Now what could you be thinking so hard about?" was the innocent question.

"How to beat an old nemesis," the very feminine man answered distractedly with a wave of his hand. "That stupid Jade keeps getting in my way and ruining things. He destroyed our teacher's life when he killed her, now he has to destroy mine too. And to think he won't even acknowledge my true name, Dist the Rose!"

The spiky haired girl's eyebrows rose at the mention of a death, golden eyes sparkling. Tyki had taken his hat off to adjust it before replacing it on his head but his ears perked at the same mention. It was then that Road got a wonderful idea. "Do you ever wish your teacher could come back to life? That you could see her again?" Dist was thrown off by the question but nodded. Surely these people couldn't know that he and Jade had already tried once to bring her back. Both had always wished for that when they were younger, a longing that Dist himself had never lost. Something was off about the sudden smirk that the young girl was wearing but he was enticed. "I think I know someone that you should meet. He can help you make that wish a reality. All you have to do is step through this door with me." A red and black checkered, heart shaped door rose behind the girl, a golden crown gracing its arches. Road made note of the fact that this door was the same as all the others she had ever made, not like the one that she and Tyki had taken to get to the strange room. And now that she had been here, she could find her way back through the dimensions.

"You can bring back Professor Nebilim? But how can you if even Jade couldn't?" the pink haired man asked hesitantly. He was too entranced by the thought of the dead returning to life to even question the odd door. A dark smile lit up the young girl's face.

"Come with us and you can find out." The tall, silent, well dressed man sighed and walked calmly through the door. The spiky haired girl slowly backed toward it. "Are you coming?" she sang.

And with a final errant thought of how this would finally let him beat Jade, Dist got up and followed the strangers through the door.

~~~~break~~~~

Allen was rather surprised when after stepping out of the Ark door he ended up in a place that he had never been to. He was positive that he could only make doorways to places that he had physically been to in the past, so when he ended up in what looked like a dimly lit conference room, he was more than a little confused. There was a large, oval shaped, oaken table in the center of the room surrounded with matching chairs. "Lavi, you can let go of me now." The redhead had tried to stop Allen from walking through the lavender mountain door and still had a firm grasp on the back of his Exorcist jacket now that they had walked through.

Knowing there were still people behind them Allen stepped to the side, pulling his friend along with him. Lenalee stepped through after them followed quickly by Marie. "Where are we?" the short haired girl questioned, her gaze flitting across the room.

"I'm not sure and that worries me. I should know all the places that the Ark connects to." The Bookman apprentice didn't say anything. He knew that central headquarter's main worry about the Ark was exactly this, that Allen didn't know everything about it or have complete control. "Well, at the very least, there are no Akuma around. There's no one in this room but maybe we should look around for a bit."They all spread out in the room. As soon as the last of them stepped away from the door, the bright light that the Ark gave off disappeared and everyone whirled around.

"What? Why did that happen Allen?" Lavi yelled. The white haired general had a confused look on his face but oddly, he did not seem worried about the situation. Instead he walked back to where the door had stood and the glow of the Ark returned. Lavi's emerald eye took this in with awe, mentally logging it away in his mind for later. "Since when do the Ark doors hide themselves?" he asked.

"Apparently since now," was the soft reply. "Even when we couldn't see it, I could still feel that this door was open. It's the same feeling that I had earlier."

"I do not hear any Innocence here besides our own," Marie finally spoke up. "Perhaps Kanda was here but moved on. We should search and find out what we can." Lenalee nodded her head in agreement. Having seen that there was nothing of interest in their current chamber they all moved to the door and into the single long, gray hall that it led to, still slightly unnerved at the fact that the Ark door had again disappeared. The other end of the hall had a small cluster of three people, people who now had their attention held by the Exorcists adorned in their elaborate black and red coats, Rose Cross emblazoned on their chests. They made a rather strange group.

"Who are you people?" one of the two men at the end of the hall questioned. Lavi stepped forward, a hand scratching the back of his head and a meek grin on his face.

"Actually, we're a little lost. Could you help us out?" The three glanced quickly at each other before one spoke to the other two. The only woman of the group hurried off and the two men walked towards them.

"If you would, please come with us," was all that was said as the men stood guard alongside the Exorcists and guided them through the halls. The men led them to what seemed to be a semi formal meeting room where an elderly man sat. The woman who had run off stood beside him talking. When the man saw them enter the room he motioned for them to come forward. They did and the guards dropped off.

"So you are the strangers I'm hearing about. Come have a seat with me." He waved a hand at the woman who still stood beside him silently, calling her attention. "Could you ask the cooks to send up some refreshments for our guests please?" The woman nodded and left the room. The elderly man saw that none of the Exorcists had moved. He made a motion at them. "Come on, come make yourselves comfortable." The group sat themselves down warily, splitting up to sit across from each other. It gave them a better overall view of the room in case an attack came from behind them. "Let's introduce ourselves while waiting for our refreshments. I am the leader here in Yulia City, Mayor Teodoro."

Lavi's eye opened wider at this information. He had never heard of such a city before, even in the past, and he knew quite a bit of history. Allen hopped on the chance to be polite in the light of their new meeting. "I am Allen Walker. This person beside me is Lavi and the two across from us are Lenalee Lee and Noise Marie. It's a pleasure to meet you sir." The man smiled.

"And I you. It seems that according to the story that I've heard, you all appeared somehow in the depths of the city. Is this true?" Allen and Lavi flinched; how to explain this? Lenalee answered for them.

"That's…pretty much what happened sir." She saw the expression on Allen and Lavi's faces and sincerely hoped that they could come up with a reasonable response as to why they were able to appear in the middle of an unknown city undetected. Luckily they were given more time by the arrival of the refreshments. There was an assortment of fresh fruit along with small sandwiches and cheese and crackers. Allen's eyes lit up at the thought of eating. Lavi grabbed a small sandwich for himself before that glint he saw in his friend's eyes manifested itself.

Once it was just them in the room again with the guards the elderly man, completely at ease, reached for a grape and ate it slowly. "So are you from Malkuth or Kimlasca-Lanvaldear?" he asked them. Noise faced the man and Lenalee gasped, not sure how to answer. "Or are you from the Black Order?" At this everyone stilled.

"Are you a supporter of the Order?" the white haired general finally asked. The old man smirked.

"Not at all. I don't even know what this Order of yours is." Lenalee stood and stared at the man.

"Then how do you know about it?"

"Please sit down Miss Lenalee. It's simple really."

"You've met Kanda," came simultaneously with "You've met Yuu," from both Marie and Lavi.

"Yes. I only interacted with him once while he was here but there were others as well. He was an interesting character to say the least," the man said remembering the very bold and informative stare the he had shared with said man. Right now the only decision to be made was whether or not to send these people after his granddaughter's group. They had left the day before and should already have been on their way to Baticul if they weren't there already; and now there was no plane to take them.

"When he was here, he was rather concerned about how to get back home to this Order. We didn't know what he was talking about so he went with my granddaughter and a group of sorts to hopefully find someone else who could help him. They left for the Outer Lands yesterday."

_The Outer Lands?_ "Can I ask a question?" Lavi interjected. "Where exactly are we?" The fact that he didn't recognize any of what the old man was talking about was starting to both worry and excite him. He always loved new information as a Bookman but the fact that they had no idea where they were, even in relation to somewhere else, was a bit worrying. Even so, they could always just go back through the Ark door but he was sure none of them would want to leave without their antisocial samurai. The fact that Yuu hadn't left immediately when he realized that he was in an unknown place, was probably due to the fact that he didn't know that the door was still there. After all, it had disappeared when they stepped away from it and only Allen could sense that it was still there.

"Well, you are in Yulia City in the Qliphoth." He was surrounded with dead stares of confusion. "Ah yes, I see you really are with him. Jade and I had a talk about this before they left. He suspected that Kanda was from another world and that was why he did not know anything of ours. Now as to how you got here, that is still a mystery." There was a shared glance between the group. They knew how they got there but were not willing to tell a stranger about the Ark. And another world? Not likely. As much as the Exorcists faced odd encounters and phenomenon daily due to the Earl, akuma, and Innocence, they were not about to believe that they had left Earth behind for another world.

"Could you perhaps point us to where Kanda is now? We would like to find him soon," the blind Marie finally spoke up. The elderly man laughed.

"I see you are eager to find your comrade. Well therein lays the dilemma. You see, to get where your friend is, you would have to fly straight up for about half an hour, then probably south-south-east if my judgment of where they are is correct."

Lavi wasn't quite sure if he had heard correctly. "Straight up? You mean we go north?" The old man shook his head.

"Not at all. You go directly up to get out of the Qliphoth and into the Outer Lands. They are called the Outer Lands because they were once raised up out of the spreading liquidation and miasma that we are currently in, so they are above us."

_Other world huh?_ If what the old man just said was true then they _must_ be in another world. The redhead tried to think of a way to fly straight up without any sort of transportation. He wasn't really sure what the 'plane' that the man mentioned before was, but he reasoned that it must be some mode of transport that would normally be able to take them in an upward direction.

"Well if we have a way of getting up to these Outer Lands, how would we get to where Kanda is now?" the Chinese girl asked, no worry in her soft, violet eyes. The other three Exorcists stared at her. Obviously the hardest part would be actually getting out of here; how could she just skip past that little tidbit?

Noticing the stares of the others, Lenalee smiled. "We can use my Crimson Boots. I'm not strong enough to take more than one person at a time but with how fast they are, it wouldn't be much of a problem to get us all there." It was a good idea. Lavi was surprised that he hadn't thought of it himself. The girl spoke to the old man again. "So where would we go after that?" The man wrinkled his brow, not quite understanding what the group was talking about. How were boots going to get them out of the Qliphoth? In any case, they couldn't just walk out into the miasma.

"Well they were first going to stop in at the Order of Lorelei in Daath to pick up Fon Master Ion, but after how long they've been gone, I would put my bet on them being almost to Baticul, the capital of Kimlasca. They were in somewhat of a rush. Either way, you must realize that you cannot just walk out into the miasma. It would kill you almost instantly."

"Huh? There's no way around that?" the white haired boy asked. "So no one ever leaves this place?"

"We are the only city remaining in the Qliphoth because of the miasma, the city of Watchers. Most of us don't leave. However, there is a way that might work now that I think of it. There are suits that will hold off the deadly poisons temporarily that we use when we must perform maintenance on the shields that guard the city, but something like that will only last about twenty minutes. I don't know about these boots of yours, but the fastest plane ever built still takes thirty minutes to get there."

A cocky smirk overcame the Chinese girl's face. "Does this 'plane' go faster than the speed of sound?" she asked. The mayor shook his head. "Then I think we'll be alright."

~~~~break~~~~

**A/N: **So I'm sorry if this chapter was kind of slow. It had all the little tidbits with the characters I didn't really want to write about. If I had my way, the whole story would be Kanda-Jade interaction. Though I did have fun writing the scenes with the exhausted Jade and Kanda =) In any case, I wanted to post this now since Thanksgiving break is coming up and where I'll be, there is no internet. Hope you enjoyed it, and as always, reviews are appreciated.


	5. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 4**_

It was times like this that Marie was glad that he was blind. He couldn't see the miasma as he was dragged through it at inhuman speeds, but he knew that as fast as they must be going, he would be either dizzy or in need of a large bucket when they landed. In any case, Lenalee dropped him on solid ground and it felt as though he was taking a step for the first time, unsteady and uncertain. "I'm going to get Lavi and then we can move from here," came the voice that could only belong to the Chinese girl. It held that soft, kind lilt that often covered the strength that could be found in her when needed. "Let me take your suit back down with me." The suits that Mayor Teodoro had lent them worked wonders for blocking out the miasma, a fact that all the Exorcists were glad for once they had actually witnessed the swirling, poisonous liquid for themselves. Marie gave a deep nod to the girl and shrugged out of the suit, handing it to her and hearing her leave, before approaching the younger general nearby who had come before him and still sounded nauseous.

"Allen, are you alright?"Slowly, after a minute, the beating heart and churning stomach he heard returned to normal rhythms.

"Yeah. Yeah, I think I'm fine now. It's going to be interesting to get back down when we return though." Marie could hear the boy shifting and his voice echoed; he assumed the young general was gazing the distance across the sea towards the entrance of the Qliphoth.

"Yes, it will. Perhaps the group that we are to find will allow us to use this 'plane' that the Mayor kept bringing up. Otherwise it may end up being as long and difficult as it is now." Allen stared silently at the tall, blind man before him and then swerved his gaze to the surrounding land. They were on the tip of a continent directly east of the exit of the Qliphoth. That didn't mean a whole lot to the young white haired boy until he saw it now; a place called Tataroo Valley according to the information the Mayor had given them. Sitting on solid ground, it was hard to assume that all of this land and ocean was floating above the disgusting miasma coating the core of the planet.

"Marie, what do you think of this place?" The dark man frowned, not sure what the cursed general meant by his question; was there immediate danger? Were the people a threat?

"All I hear are the waves of the ocean and the forest animals crawling about. There isn't a person for miles around, that could be a good or a bad thing, and there are no akuma." Allen nodded though the other man couldn't see him.

"I sense no akuma either. That's good considering the Mayor said the only way to go from here is south." If they went south for a bit, then east, there was supposed to be a bridge to another continent, and from there, north-west to Grand Chokmah. From what they had heard, there was no way that they were going to be able to catch Kanda and the group he was traveling with in Baticul, especially if they had the plane. It wasn't like they could use Lenalee to fly across the world. With that being the case, the Exorcists had decided the best idea would be to make their way to Grand Chokmah since that would be their next stop anyway. "Though he did warn us that there would be formidable creatures in the area." Allen also wondered what kind of 'formidable' creatures they would have to face if there weren't any akuma. Surely they couldn't be any stronger? In any case, they wouldn't really know what they were up against until they fought.

"Everything sounds peaceful; it's nice." The blind man lifted his head to the sky as if soothed by the calm emanating from the land. After a pause he added, "Lenalee and Lavi are on their way. We should get ready to go."

A few moments later Allen could see a vibrant head of red hair speeding towards them. "Heyaaa!" yelled the boy dangling above the ocean, frantically waving his arm now that he could see them. Allen could barely see the swishing of Lenalee's hair as she shook her head at the older boy's antics. Soon they landed quite solidly on the ground with a loud thump. Lenalee, used to flying about with her Crimson Boots, calmly walked over to the other two Exorctists; Lavi stumbled about like a drunkard until his sense of equilibrium returned, the white haired boy snickering as he watched. Once he could walk straight, he joined the group, a huge grin on his face. "That was AWESOME!" he exclaimed, the excitement clear in his single emerald eye. "I mean, aside from the poisonous gas thing, it was amazing! I've never flown with Lenalee's boots before. It's nothing like using Ozuchi Kozuchi; you never told me it was so much fun Allen." He looked at his friend with an accusing look as if Allen should have known that Lavi would love the experience and it was therefore his duty to tell the apprentice Bookman. Allen gave an awkward laugh but the older Exorcist was still staring at him like he had committed some evil.

Lenalee walked between them, hands up as if breaking up a fight. "Yes, it was fun Lavi. We might get to do it again going back, but we'll never get that far if we don't leave." That seemed to snap the hammer wielding Exorcist out of it and his eyes widened.

"Then let's go!" He hurried out of his suit, the violet eyed girl having already shed hers, and stuffed it into his bag. Allen picked up his suitcase from where he had been trying not to puke earlier.

They began their march south, Marie trailing at the back. He shivered. "You _enjoyed_ that?" he asked to himself, thinking of the overly excited boy. He would much rather stay on firm ground. With a shake of his head, he trotted faster to join his friends.

~~~~break~~~~

"Why don't we sit and talk in one of the small libraries?" Tear suggested. The group was in Baticul and had just finished their dinner, though there still remained time before any of them would turn in for the night. Kanda had been slightly shocked to learn of the distance that had been created between Natalia and her father. Apparently, she was not born the true princess and King Ingobert was having a hard time taking that news. Some man named Mohs was absolutely not helping the issue and as a result, Kanda had to stand there listening to some sob story from Luke about how the brown haired girl really was the king's daughter; he had raised her like his own for seventeen years after all. The navy haired man had come to tolerate the short haired girl rather well and was irritated beyond belief at the stupidity of the argument. For some reason Natalia seemed to summon protective feelings from him similar to those he had for another female warrior he knew. Anyone could have seen the agitation in Kanda's deep blue eyes and he finally snapped when Mohs continued to try and convince the king that she was evil and trying to deceive the kingdom. The next thing the man knew there was a very sharp, very deadly blade at his throat being held by an extremely pissed and skilled swordsman. Any time a peep dared attempt to make its way out of the man's mouth, Kanda pressed the blade a little further, until a thin line of blood dripped from Mohs' throat. After that, things had wrapped up rather quickly, both Luke and Natalia setting forth the proposal of a renewed peace treaty between the countries and explaining about how to work together to lower the lands into the Qliphoth. Without Mohs' interference, the king finally came to his senses and realized that no matter her birth, Natalia was his true daughter and they reunited. Kanda had rolled his eyes at the entire situation. The people that he worked with came from every background and if there was anything that Lenalee had taught him, it was that blood does not determine family. The entire Order was made up of her brothers, sisters, uncles and aunts. He knew that if he too chose, he could have those friends and that family…he just never chose to.

Only Tear, Kanda, and Jade remained, as the young princess wanted to have some time with her father before they left, and Luke went back to his mansion for the night to visit his family, Guy following as his guard.

Kanda had no issue with everyone leaving; it meant they weren't doing something that would piss him off. He didn't, however, want to sit and talk in the library. "No thanks. I'm going to my room." He was still tired after all. They had only gotten three hours of sleep in Daath. He could have gotten more sleep on the plane but there was still the issue of people surrounding him. Kanda just did not sleep around other people unless there was no other choice.

"Oh Yuu, how kind of you to invite Tear to _our_ room. If you just wanted to talk in there you should have said so," Jade smirked. Kanda wanted to punch that smirk off of his face.

"Don't fucking call me by my given name or I will kill you where you stand! And it's not like I share a room with you by choice!" Tear looked surprised and wary but the red eyed man's smirk only grew as a look of confirmation glittered in his red depths. He turned and ignored the angry Japanese man.

"Come along Tear. Let's go. I'm sure we can find another chair if there isn't an extra." The two began walking down the hall toward the guest bedrooms. Kanda stomped after them.

"What the fuck? No! There is not going to be any sort of chit chat in our room or anywhere near me. I haven't fucking slept more than three hours in four days and I'm fucking tired. I'm going to bed!" He whirled around so fast and stormed off that the only thing the two in the hall could see was a midnight blue ponytail whipping back and forth in agitation as he disappeared around a corner. Jade couldn't help but laugh.

Tear smiled softly. "I know how you like to tease people but don't push him too far. We still aren't sure what he is capable of."Jade nodded, a wide smile still on his face. He was well aware, after having watched the man quite a bit, that he would be a formidable foe to any of them, but he didn't really care. To him, this was just another piece of the puzzle that was Kanda Yuu. So he didn't like being called by his first name, huh? "Also, he's right. You two barely got any sleep. Go to bed. We can talk tomorrow." At these words, a large yawn made itself known to the military clad Colonel and he raised his hand in an attempt to cover it.

"Alright then, good night Tear." He took his leave to follow his semi-permanent roommate hoping desperately to get some shut eye. When he finally found his door, Jade slipped in only to find Kanda taking over the only bed in the room, an arm covering his eyes as he lied on his back. There was easily room for three people on the bed, but neither was going to explore the option of sharing. Deep blue pools peeked from under the exotic man's arm and away as they acknowledged that the brunette man was indeed in the room again with him.

"Hmph. The bed is mine today." And with that Kanda slid out his hair tie, placing it on the side table on the far end of the room, and turned to face away from the room's other occupant. Jade just watched in fascination as the inky locks spilled around the younger man's body, released from their elastic chains. He could tell from the dark haired man's shoulders, which were still tense, that he was expecting a fight. Jade would give up the bed today; he had taken it every other night and it was only fair. He resigned himself to sleeping on the floor. Silently he slipped off his belt, placing it on the bedside table, and sat on the end of the bed to take off his boots.

Kanda flipped over, feeling weight on the bed he had claimed. He was instantly entranced by the calm features on the older man's face as he readied himself for sleep. From the side he could see more clearly than ever the rich red color of the Colonel's eyes around his glasses; it was striking, even to him. The strangest eye color he had ever seen was the clouded gray that the Moyashi sported. It was now that he could see the bags under those eyes too, a dark color making its way around. Kanda could only imagine that he looked about the same, he hadn't seen his reflection in a while to know. The two of them were exhausted.

Kanda glanced around the room and noted that there was nothing to sleep on aside from the bed. There only stood a single wooden table with two chairs surrounding it, and a cushion filled armchair. The floor was cold stone only partially covered by a large, fluffy rug. Jade stood and turned, his eyes searching for the least cramped and uncomfortable spot in the room. Kanda stared, then got up, reaching for every pillow he could find, internally berating himself for what he knew he was about to do. He piled the pillows roughly in a line in the middle before plopping himself back down ungracefully. "It's stupid when there's plenty of room, but if you touch me at all you won't make it until sunrise," mumbled the prone figure. "Stay on your side."

Jade couldn't help but feel good about having broken through the foreign man's defensive shell even a little bit, and a small, heartfelt smile found its way to his lips. "All right," he said, and lied down on his half of the bed, taking off his glasses before curling up facing the enigma of a man before him. With a sigh, his eyelids closed and, before he knew it, he was soundly asleep. Kanda rolled over in surprise when he heard a quiet snore, realizing that the other man had finally either given in or decided that he didn't care and fallen asleep in front of him. Rolling back over, Kanda closed his eyes as well and succumbed to slumber's wiles. After four days, they finally slept.

~~~~break~~~~

A sharp knock on the door made its way through Kanda's fog enveloped mind and called him into the waking world. Even as his mind roused, he forced himself to not get up, knowing that his body really did not want to move yet. He heard the soft click of the door handle turning and footsteps entering the room, a soft "Oh!" and then they retreated. Frowning at the fact that he didn't know what was going on he finally decided to squint, so that there was no sudden stabbing of light, and see. It took him a moment to comprehend what was going on, then his eyes widened.

~~~~break~~~~

Tear walked down the hall with a very fast pace, trying to outrun the scene she had just witnessed. The warm sunlight spilled through the tall windows in the hallway as it lit the room and made it glow, but all of this was lost on the young woman. She kept her face down to hide the blush that now covered it, so she didn't know anyone else was near until a voice called out to her.

"Tear!" Luke ran up to her looking more refreshed than she remembered him being in a while. He gained a worried look as he approached her. "Are you alright Tear?" Still not knowing what to say, she nodded. It wasn't as if what she saw was all that bad, more like surprising.

"Well I think we're going to be ready to head out soon. Did you wake Jade and Kanda?" Tear shook her head. "Oh. Well then I'll go get the—," Tear grabbed his arm in a tight grip, finally finding her voice.

"No. Don't worry about it. I was just on my way right now. We'll meet you all when we're ready." Luke frowned but nodded his assent, rubbing his now released arm. He often forgot that the lithe woman had more strength than one would guess at first glance; she wasn't in the Oracle Knights for no reason.

"Okay. I'll be with the others then," he muttered. Tear gave him a big smile and a wave as he walked away from her. Spinning on her heel, she began marching her way back down the hall she had just come from hoping that the two in the room would be awake before she got back.

~~~~break~~~~

Kanda stayed where he was, frozen. Somehow in the night the pillow barrier he had erected was destroyed; some lay scattered across the bed, a few on the floor, and some had made their way to the other side of the room. True, his fortress had fallen apart, but that was definitely not the most distressing part. In the night he had curled partway to the fetal position, his legs bent at a ninety degree angle and his arms acting as a cushion for his head. Jade had managed to shimmy his way down the bed and curl around Kanda's legs, his head nestled between his stomach and lap. Kanda flinched as the man exhaled and warm breath glided over his crotch. He was still asleep. That was the only way this made any sense. Obviously he wouldn't be in bed with anyone, much less another man.

Kanda shut his eyes tightly, telling himself that he hadn't woken up yet, but the other man still lay in a way that would look like he had his head on Kanda's lap in any upright position. He suddenly remembered what had occurred the night before. He had told Jade to stay on his freaking side of the bed. So why was it that pillows were thrown all over the room and the man was curled around him? He readjusted himself, realizing that now was the prime opportunity to get some payback for all that the Colonel had put him through. It wouldn't be nearly enough but it would definitely be a start, and it would make him feel better. With a swift kick, Jade flew off the bed, landing a few feet away with a loud grunt of pain and a sneer on Kanda's part.

The navy haired man crawled over the bed to look down on the man who had quickly gotten acquainted with the intricate rug. Jade was gasping for breath, having had the air knocked right out of him. "This is why I don't ever try to do anything nice for anyone," Kanda mocked. "You try and do something and people don't listen; it never ends well." And with that he slid gracefully out of _his _bed and found himself a change of clothes.

A few minutes later, after Jade had picked himself up and put himself back together, there was a heavy knock at the door. Seeing that his roommate was about to answer as snootily and rudely as ever, Jade answered, "Come in."

Tear peeked a hesitant head through the door, scanning quickly to make sure it was okay to enter. Finding everything alright, she walked in further. "Everyone is about ready to go. We're just putting the last few things on the Albiore. Are you two ready?" Kanda gave a slight nod. He had originally snickered at the fact that they had named their plane, but then realized that it was exactly the same as Jade laughing when he heard that Kanda had named his Innocence, and immediately stopped. He wouldn't be labeled a hypocrite.

Noticing the bright sunlight shining its way through the thin curtains, Kanda frowned in confusion. "What time is it?" he asked. Red eyes looked at him in confusion before trailing after his and widening in surprise.

"Ah. It's a little after midday. We all decided it would be best to let you two sleep longer so that you would be well rested and prepared for the journey," Tear explained. There was a long silence.

"We will be there momentarily; we just woke up," Jade said. Tear saw the calm, easy way that the two moved through the room with each other and filed away what she had seen of them sleeping together earlier as a presumptuous thought. Maybe things had just ended up that way? They didn't seem to have much to do with each other and neither looked worried about what had transpired. It didn't particularly matter to her in either case, so long as their mission was completed, though she did take note of the fact that it was the first time that she could remember Jade willingly sharing a room with another person, much less a bed. She smiled.

"Well, you are both looking much better for the rest. I'm glad. We'll be waiting with Noelle by the Albiore so just come when you are ready." And with that she left to meet the others. She had to talk to Anise after all; the girl was still scared to get too close to the Japanese man after what had happened in Daath. And after that she would talk to Guy; he had spent the most time with Kanda aside from his watcher, Jade. It would be interesting to see if their new traveling companion was as cold on the inside as he made himself out to be…and if that had anything to do with the Colonel's odd behavior.

~~~~break~~~~

"Are you _finally_ ready to go?" Kanda was sick of waiting for the bespectacled man, who had somehow become his permanent roommate, to get ready and packed. It surprised him that as a military man, he didn't move any faster.

With a sigh, the older man shut his suitcase and straightened from his bent position over the bed, adjusting his glasses in the same motion. "Yes. Let's go meet the others." Kanda gave a final glare before walking out of the room, the Colonel shadowing him. Their walk through the Baticul palace was silent, yet after the glare as the two left the room, there seemed to be no negative energy between them, just an understood quiet.

As they neared the Albiore, the two silent men could instantly tell that something was wrong. Anise seemed agitated whereas Ion looked to be extremely nervous, his emerald green eyes darting all over the place. Tear and Guy were confused and worried, and Luke stood to the side of the rest of them, an annoyed grimace having made its home on his face. Kanda stopped a distance before the lot of them, Jade taking a few more steps ahead of him. "What's wrong?" Kanda couldn't see it, but he was sure that he could picture the frown on the older man's face as his brow wrinkled and crimson eyes squinted. He wondered how much he must have been observing about the man without realizing to be able to do that, but that was a thought for another time. Ion took a step away from the group toward Jade.

"Jade, it seems that I have to return to Daath right away. A messenger was sent after us almost as soon as we left. Apparently it is extremely urgent. I wish to have Noelle take me there on the Albiore so that I may deal with this quickly and return to help with the peace negotiations." The small boy stood still, waiting for the Colonel's reply. Jade thought for a moment.

"How long do you think this will take?" he asked. Ion shook his head.

"I don't know; hopefully, not long at all. The sooner I leave, the sooner I can return. I'll do whatever I can to hurry things along."

"If that is the case, then we will begin to make the journey on foot. That way, when you return, we will be partway there. You and Noelle can pick us up from there and then we can make our way to Grand Chokmah," Jade announced, looking over the green haired boy's shoulder. "Does that sound alright to everyone?" he asked. An assortment of nods showed their agreement. "Alright then." Kanda, having just watched the entire exchange, had to admit, to himself alone of course, that he was rather impressed with Jade's leadership charisma and his ability to take charge. It was something that he took note of about the man.

Ion nodded at Jade before hurrying onto the plane. Anise ran up to stand before him, face bright and eager. "Don't you worry about him Colonel. I'll take good care of him and get us back safe and sound," and with that she skipped her way back toward the Albiore to follow the Fon Master.

All those who were staying picked up their packs that they now had to carry. Guy swung his satchel over his shoulder and began heading towards the city gates. Pausing to glance back over his shoulder, he grinned. "We might as well get a move on and make some time." Kanda grunted and marched his way to the front of the group near Guy. If anyone was going to slow them down, it wouldn't be him, but he still didn't know where he was going so he stayed behind the other man. Tear and Natalia followed silently while Jade walked with a glint in his eyes. He could read Kanda so easily that it was almost funny. As the midday sun warmed the sky, the group made their way out of the majestic city of Baticul.

~~~~break~~~~

Kanda couldn't believe how little these people could endure. It was only about four and a half hours into their journey and they were already taking a break to rest and eat, not to mention that their overall pace was rather slow. If he had known where he was going and could take care of this treaty thing on his own, Kanda would have been long gone. Instead, he now sat on a large boulder in a wide, out-of-the-way clearing, watching as the others had small meals. Natalia and Tear chatted quietly between themselves as they nibbled a little ways away while Guy gave Luke some pointers on his swordsmanship, having scarfed all of their food down. Jade stood off to Kanda's right leaning against a tree. The brunette stared at the sky, a faraway look in his eyes. Kanda just sat there waiting, attempting, and failing, to push his irritation down.

Trying to meditate and calm his mind, Kanda breathed deep and listened to the forest around him. He heard the birds chirping and flying about, the creatures in the brush and the rustling of all the leaves. He could sense all of it surrounding him…all including that sudden killing aura. Kanda's eyes instantly snapped open and darted around.

In another area of the small clearing Guy suddenly stilled in his spar with Luke. He could sense something coming and gave a small shout to alert the others so they could be on their guard. As soon as his eyes hit the brush line, a large beast jumped out, fangs and claws bared and ready for a fight. Guy ran for it drawing his sword as he went while, in his peripheral, he noticed that the Colonel had made no move towards the beast. The blond man found no need, however, to put the curious thought away as it was explained to him when he stopped a few feet away from their attacker…or would have been attacker. Before Guy's widened blue eyes stood Kanda, his sword clicking into its sheath and standing strong and tall, behind the wolf-like animal that was now splayed on the ground before him, dead. Guy had not even seen the man move but noticed that he had drawn his sword, gotten behind the creature, killed it, cleaned his blade, and resheathed it before anyone else had even gotten to where it stood; his speed was astounding.

Glancing behind him, the blond swordsman could tell that he wasn't the only one surprised by the new man's skill. Natalia was halfway up from her seated position on a rock and Tear was partway there, staff in hand, taken aback at the fact that the threat was already gone. Luke was frozen to where he had been sparring, his own sword loose in his grip. The only one who didn't seem surprised at all was Jade. He had maintained his comfortable looking position leaning against the tree, a calculating look in his eyes.

Kanda noticed all the stares coming his way and glared back at them all. What he had done was nothing and yet they were all frozen in space. "Everyone's up. We can go now."

A chuckle made its way out of Jade's mouth as he pushed off of his resting place. "Yes, I guess that means we can leave now." With the word coming from their unspoken leader, everyone began packing up and getting ready to continue their trek.

"Che." Kanda stormed off ahead, following the path that they had oriented themselves around all morning. It frustrated him beyond belief that he held no authority here. He knew nothing of where he was or where they were going. Even his best glares and menacing tactics didn't work on these people…well, they worked on all but one, the most important one in his opinion.

Kanda's frown only deepened as he heard the shuffle or feet behind him. He wanted his space, to not have to be surrounded by these idiots who couldn't even keep up with him. Suddenly not wanting to be anywhere near these strange people, Kanda picked up the pace and marched ahead.

"Hey Kanda! Wait! You don't even know where you're going," a female voice yelled after him. He could already picture the worry and reluctance in Tear's face. There was a heavy sigh and a soft, low voice before another footfall hurried to join his. Kanda didn't have to turn to know who it was. As much as the Colonel could get on his nerves, for some reason, Kanda didn't mind his presence as much as he felt he should and this bothered him.

"What do you want?" he grit out without turning around.

"Just making sure that we don't lose you," flowed the man's voice, a little too cheerily. Kanda stubbornly kept silent, not wanting to speak to the man. They walked in this manner for a while, Kanda in the lead followed closely by Jade, and the rest of the group giving them some space.

Jade was having a ball watching the younger man before him. It was amazing just how much he learned from keeping close behind Kanda. Every once in a while the dark haired man would tense slightly and a few moments later Jade would hear some sound in the forest or an animal would be rummaging nearby. The man's senses were shocking. All of this knowledge was being added to Jade's store of information when in front of him Kanda came to a complete stop, body frozen. Jade walked up behind him.

"What's wrong?" the Colonel questioned. Kanda kept silent a moment longer before slipping smoothly into an attacking position and sliding his sword out of its sheath.

"Akuma. Stay back and stay out of my way," he growled before dashing off into the nearby foliage.

"Kanda!" came the cry from Guy as the rest of the group caught up. "Where is he running off to?" Jade shook his head to tell the blond he knew as little as they did. "Then let's follow him. Who knows what kind of trouble he could get into otherwise." And with that the group took off into the denser part of the forest before they lost their newest addition.

What they saw when they arrived shocked all of them. Kanda was in battle with what appeared to be large, balloon-like weapons with tortured humanoid faces on them. Kanda himself jumped from one to another slicing the odd beings to pieces before they exploded. Luke took note of the fact that the man's sword was glowing again with that odd shimmer. Well he _had_ said that it was what allowed him to kill the akuma, his Innocence._ Is that what these things are? _Luke thought. _Are these the akuma? _

If they were then there were a lot more terrifying to look at than anything their group had faced. He hoped that didn't equate to them being that much stronger. Luke didn't have much time to think on it though as one of the creatures approached them. There seemed to be more creatures than any one person could easily handle. Luke and Guy both pulled out their swords as Natalia knocked an arrow on her bow. Tear had her spear out and was in a defensive stance. Just as Natalia's arrow shattered on the hard shell of the creature, a stroke of lightning struck the top of it. Luke smiled knowing well that very few things could survive Jade's lightning attacks, even with some of his power still bound. His smile was wiped off his face though when he discovered that this creature was obviously one of the exceptions. It floated unharmed before them, only now its arm-like appendages pointed in their direction. Luke saw what seemed to be a barrel and soon realized why the appendages seemed strange: they were guns.

"Get back!" And before the creature could blow them to bits, a stream of what looked like ghostly demon bugs flowed through it, destroying it so that it exploded in the air above them. The whole group stood wide eyed as Kanda dropped gracefully and landed, almost cat-like before them, back facing the group. "I thought I told you all to stay back," he grit out, annoyed that they hadn't listened to him. "But if you want to get yourselves killed, be my guest. I won't get in your way."

Luke puffed up defensively. "Hey, we can take care of ourselves you know!"

"Not against these akuma. If you want to survive then stand back and let me take care of this group." Luke frowned and took a few steps forward before Jade put an arm out to stop him.

"Let's let him take care of this. If anything, it will give us good insight into his fighting ability." The redhead didn't look the least bit happy about it but stood down. The others, who were still ready to defend themselves, relaxed their stances to watch Kanda fight. What they saw left them slack jawed. The ease with which the long haired man jumped from akuma to akuma shouldn't have been physically possible. He sliced through them with Mugen so easily that, had Natalia and Jade's earlier attacks not already failed, they would not have believed the akuma were that hard to face.

"Kaichou Ichigen!" And again there appeared the large swarm of ghostly demon bugs that ate through the akuma. Even with the surprising amount of them, the battle was almost over in a matter of minutes. Only a few akuma remained.

"What's that sound?" Tear's voice broke through the daze that they had fallen into watching their new member flit about with amazing speed and ability. Glancing around, the group saw that many of the beasts of the forest now surrounded the area, called out by the noises of the battle. They were mostly predators that the group fought on a normal traveling basis and were used to encountering. There were quite a few in a wide circle moving in on them. Instantly, the group was on alert again, each splitting up with some silent command, to take on the violent beasts and leaving Kanda to finish off the akuma.

"Wait Kanda!" came a cry from Jade, and when everyone else turned, they could only see the tail end of Kanda chasing a few akuma deeper into the forest with Jade in pursuit. Both Guy and Tear attempted to run after the two but were halted by more of the forest beasts. Tear whirled back with a growl to face her opponent. She didn't want to leave the Colonel alone with Kanda; she just didn't trust him that much yet, and with the way Jade handled the whole sleeping issue, she was worried. With a stern jab of her spear, Tear took out her opponent and moved on the next.

~~~~break~~~~

Kanda ran. A little ways ahead of him he could see three akuma trying to escape. He couldn't, as an Exorcist, let them escape to kill others. That would only play into the Millennium Earl's plans. _Speaking of which, why are there even akuma here if this is supposed to be "another world"? _Kanda thought. He knew then that there was no way something as stupid as what Jade had described would have happened. To think he had almost believed the man. He had almost seemed _sincere._ This just made Kanda angrier and he ran ever faster, Mugen ready to slice through the death machines before him.

"Wait Kanda!" The Colonel's familiar voice called out to the samurai, only causing him to increase his pace. He could hear the infuriating man trying to catch up with him. Kanda jumped, releasing his Underworld Beasts on the escaping akuma. As his Beasts ripped through the last one, he landed gently on the ground, his Exorcist coat floating silently around him as hurrying footsteps caught up with him. "There was no way you didn't hear me," Jade accused as he came to a stop next to the swordsman. "And you know I can't very well let you run off on your own."

Kanda whirled around irately to face the man. "Why the hell can't you just leave me alone?"

"Come now Kanda. I know you're smarter than that. In the event that your whole story was an act and you're just here to infiltrate, I can't just let you wander about now can I?"

"You still don't believe me?" the samurai asked incredulously.

"Whether or not I believe you, the possibility still remains that my judgment may be wrong and I am still responsible for taking measures against that. Now let's get back to the others."

_There's no one around. They won't care if I cut him up a _little_ will they?_ Kanda's face got darker, betraying his thoughts and Jade, smart man that he was, took a few uncomfortable steps back. It didn't help that Kanda kept clenching and unclenching his grip on Mugen. To think that he had once mocked the man for naming his sword; this man could take on most all of their group and had just singled handedly defeated a swarm of those akuma creatures. Jade now understood that this man was very dangerous; not to him of course, but dangerous none the less.

Just as Kanda began drawing his sword and making his way to the Colonel, Jade seemed return to his present surroundings. "We should start heading back. We've gone a ways from the group and it's getting late. Soon it will be too dark to try and find our way," the man stated.

Seeing as all their supplies were in the clearing with the rest of the group, Kanda reluctantly agreed and sheathed Mugen. "Fine then, let's go." Shoving past the brunette, he started back on the path they came from. Jade sighed and shook his head before following silently.

~~~~break~~~~

A/N: Sorry for the long wait time between updates guys. Preparing for finals has taken over my life. Hopefully after this week I'll be able to have more consistant updates. In any case, I hope you enjoyed the chapter; I ended up tweaking this one quite a few times and I think I got out all the kinks. Now, onward and…onward…


	6. Chapter 5

_**Chapter 5**_

The walk back to the others was longer than either Jade of Kanda had realized. Moving as fast as they had been to chase down the akuma, they had covered quite a bit of distance. Jade used this time to question quiet man in walking front of him about what had just happened.

"So Kanda, those things that you just fought off, those are the akuma you were warning us about?" Jade had been pondering the events that had unfolded that day and had a few questions for the silent swordsman. Kanda snorted before turning back to glance at the man.

"Those were akuma. Luckily for you they were only Level 1 and were easy to kill. If you had come running into higher levels, you would have been killed." Jade pondered the fact that there were different levels that gained strength the higher they got.

"Why is it that only this Innocence can harm them? It seemed that even with it, an ordinary sword slash did the trick."

"That's not relevant." Kanda decided at this point that if there was no more necessary information to be given out, he was done talking. Jade seemed to sense this and resigned himself to having to ask again when the swordsman was in more giving mood. _That might be a while,_ he thought. He really wanted to know more about these comrades of his at the Black Order that could put up with all the man's mood swings.

The forest was unsettlingly silent around them, all the smaller animals having hidden from the noise of the battle. The two moved expertly with the grace of those used to survival outdoors, keeping a lookout for anything that may still have an interest in attacking them. It wasn't long before they spotted the light from the area they had made camp in earlier and made their way toward it.

The clearing was empty; all the others were gone.

"Well, we're in the right spot," said Jade.

"Really? Was it all the dead carcasses that gave it away?" retorted Kanda, eyes taking in the sliced up animal corpses.

"I don't know where they could have gone, and so quickly too. It wouldn't do any good to randomly search with no idea what happened. The most we can do is just continue on toward Malkuth and hope to run into them either there or on the way." Kanda almost calmed at that statement…almost.

"So it's just you and me then?"

"Why Kanda, you almost make it sound like you would enjoy my company," Jade teased. Kanda grit his teeth.

"I would prefer to be on my own but at least one pain in the ass is better than five." And with that he stomped his way further into the foliage. Jade chuckled.

"Kanda, it's this way."

~~~~break~~~~

They had been walking together through hours of silence before Kanda finally came to a stop and stared up at the sky. The clouds were getting darker and it was getting dim. "Are you thinking of making camp for the night?" Jade asked, breaking the silence. Kanda's brow creased in thought.

"Could you lead us any further in the dark?"

"Probably not. I'm not as familiar with Kimlascan territory as I am with my own Malkuth ground. It might be best to stop until we have better light in the morning." The dark haired man nodded before picking out a clear area to set up camp. Jade was amazed to see the man look the most relaxed he'd seen him since he came to Yulia City. He seemed to fit right into the nature around him.

Their camp wasn't much seeing as Natalia and Tear had all the food for the group, and their supplies had been in the now empty clearing. If they wanted to eat, they would have to forage for food or hunt something. Jade said as much to Kanda. "Do you know what's edible and what to avoid in this forest?" Kanda asked, midnight pools gazing into Jade's own. The Colonel shook his head. "Then I guess we're going to have to hunt something." The two men stared at each other for a moment, both wondering how to go about this. Neither had been in an area for long with absolutely no source of food.

"Well, between the two of us we have your sword and my fonic artes. We ought to be able to catch something with those." Kanda's ears perked. _What are fonic artes? Is that what his weapon is?_ the man pondered before asking the brunette the same question. Jade looked at him in surprise for a moment.

"Ah, I keep forgetting that you don't know about this world. People who use the fonic artes are able to manipulate the very fonons in the world around us. They make up everything and thus, once you have this ability, you are able to do a great many things that people are not normally able to." Kanda frowned.

"Things like what?" Jade smirked at the man's confusion.

"I could show you if you like. Why not while we try to hunt?" and with that the bespectacled man walked off a little ways into the surrounding foliage. Kanda grunted before making sure Mugen was snug on his side and following.

Not long after they had been wandering did the samurai hear the distinct sounds of an animal rummaging around. He grabbed Jade's arm, pulling him to a stop, and signaled at him to stay quiet. They hunched down into the shrubbery and waited for a couple of minutes before seeing a small, spotted, pig-like creature working its way toward them as it scouted the ground, probably for food. Jade got a jolt when he saw the creature; he was pretty sure that when they saw the Emperor he wouldn't be mentioning this little leg of their adventure. The man loved his rappigs way too much.

"Alright," he whispered, catching the eye of the younger man. "You wanted to see fonic artes so watch closely." Jade readjusted himself to aim better at the wild rappig before whispering "Energy Blast!" As the name would suggest, a beam of energy shot out from the man and hit the rappig, instantly killing it. Kanda's eyes widened in surprise; he wasn't sure what it was that he had been expecting but that certainly wasn't it. It almost looked like Innocence to him.

In the time that these thoughts ran through Kanda's head, the brunette had already collected the dead animal. Kanda eyed it warily, hooves and fur. He wasn't opposed to eating meat, it just wasn't part of his staple diet. "Let's have some dinner."

Through a long, arduous process, dinner was prepared. As the two ate, Kanda tried to think of ways that he could get back to the Black Order more quickly; if he went on much longer without his soba, someone was going to have to pay. "Can everyone else go on without you? I need to get back as soon as I can and you seem like the most capable to help me," he asked. The brunette gave Kanda a condescending smile.

"Now Kanda, don't you think it would be a far too difficult to do some sightseeing without the Albiore? You must have seen how much faster we can get around in it. As it is now, it'll take us at least another day to get out of this forest on foot." Kanda growled; he should have known. Having finished what he could of their makeshift meal, the swordsman found a tree that gave him a wide view of the clearing and sat down with his back against it. Leg propped up and Mugen at his side, Kanda closed his eyes and leaned back, releasing his tension about sleeping so near someone who wasn't necessarily an ally.

Jade eyed the man across from him before settling himself in a similar position a few feet away. A few minutes of silence followed before Jade's voice rang out quietly as he stared up at the night sky. "Kanda, why do you not like to be called Yuu? It's still your name, isn't it?"

Kanda stopped the cutthroat growl he was about to let loose. No one had ever really asked him that before. They had just accepted it as fact that he went by 'Kanda' or, in the case of Lavi, intentionally used his first name to piss him off. He lifted his gaze to the older man only to see him still staring blankly at the stars. He reclosed his eyes, tilting his head back against the tree, before answering.

"I'm of Japanese descent. When we introduce ourselves, you always say your last name first and that is what everyone calls you. For someone to call you by your first name shows a closeness or familiarity with that person; a place that no one has ever gotten with me. So, I don't like for anyone to use my first name." Somehow, in this serene moment, Jade wasn't surprised that the other man could speak as much as he did and not growl once, his voice flowing fluidly among the soft forest sounds.

"I see." And Jade did see. It meant that there was no one that the samurai considered himself close to, and, for some reason, the red eyed man found himself a little frustrated with himself as a few of his pieces of the man fit together a little better. He had to admit that he was looking forward to the day that he could call the man near him by his first name. "Well, goodnight Kanda." And with that, the Colonel squashed the odd feelings that had risen in him, closed his lids and tried to get what rest he could.

~~~~break~~~~

"Isn't it great Millenie? All these people just ready to give up their souls for those they lost!" Road swirled around with her arms out at her sides coming to a stop before the large man who seemed oddly at home in the very pink room. Sitting in a large, pink, floating chair was their newest addition to the Earl's growing collection of akuma; the very first, in fact, from this new world that they had discovered.

"The best part is that no one here has heard of us or the Exorcists. They all have fresh, malleable minds," a smooth voice came from the well dressed man in the corner. He stood at a far window, body looking out but face turned toward the other occupants in the room, as the light pouring in illuminated the dark grin that covered it. Tyki's gray skin melded perfectly with his dark, wavy, shoulder length hair and easily complimented his clothes, standing out as the most eye appealing presence in the room. "Earl, what are your plans for the rest of us?"

The Millennium Earl, ever present grin in place, turned to his pets. "Why Tyki-pon, the same as always. There may not be any Innocence here but you can cause mass destruction with my precious akuma. We've already sent out a wave using the information we gained from this one on the strongest group of warriors we can find. And the rest are leveling up at an amazing rate. It seems, however, that the group I sent out have all been destroyed. We can't have that." As he said this, the Earl gestured to the form of Dist the Reaper sitting in his chair. "Take that one with you and send out another wave."

"So we are eradicating the people most likely to fight back while they're still in the dark?" Tyki asked, his head cocked to the side in slight confusion.

"Exactly."

"Alright."

Tyki bowed lightly before slipping his tuxedo coat on as Road twirled around him, pumpkin umbrella in hand. Dist, rather, the akuma he had become, made to follow them out of the room. The Earl stopped them before they made it out of the door.

"Road, leave Lero. You traumatized him the last time." And with a pout, the spiky haired girl released the dizzy umbrella, letting him float his way unsteadily back to his owner.

~~~~break~~~~

Birds twittered in the air causing Kanda to open his eyes and let the dawn sun burn its way into his retinas. He squinted for a minute before blinking a few times to let himself adjust to the brightness of the new day. A quick glance showed their camp the same way that they had left it the night before; obviously because Kanda would have woken had anything come near them at night. Something seemed still seemed strange to the swordsman though, as he took in his surroundings. He realized that this was the first time since coming to meet Jade and his group that he had had a morning in silence. Kanda turned, leaning on his hand, to see the tree Jade had been under when they had gone to bed.

The Colonel had managed to slump over in his sleep, somehow landing in a strange position. Jade's lower half was splayed as if he was laid on his side, right knee hiked up higher than the other, while his upper half was turned as if he was lying on his back. His right arm was straight, pinned beneath his torso. Kanda winced just looking at the man; it did not seem a comfortable way to sleep in the least. Wanting to utilize as much daytime as he could, Kanda shook the older man to wake him.

Jade grunted in an undignified way before opening his eyes. They wandered over to Kanda before he attempted to get up. Just watching, the dark haired man could see that the military man's arm was quite stiff from being pinned under his body and was probably tingling as blood made its way back through pinched off veins and arteries. He stared in silence as the man tried to work the kinks out of his body so that he could get up.

"Come on. We have to start moving if we want to get out of this forest today. You said yourself that we had another day's walk ahead of us," Kanda said as he got up. Jade stared up at him as the younger man brushed himself off and made himself ready for their trek.

"Good morning to you too," he sighed softly. Kanda just slid Mugen onto his side and looked at the older man.

"Let's go."

Jade raised his arms above his head in an attempt to work out the knots that had formed on his back. Having no luck, he rolled his shoulders before giving up and following Kanda's lead. Jade pointed out the direction toward the forest exit and the two began their day. At the distinct rustling of leaves, both men instantly rose to attention, keeping sharp eyes on their surroundings. It was going to be a long day.

~~~~break~~~~

Kanda was irritated. Under normal circumstances, the two of them should have made amazing time toward the end of the forest, but no. Jade, having slept in some absolutely absurd position the night before, had a crick in his neck and a jumble of sore muscles and knots that he couldn't quite work out, all of which were slowing their progress. Jade had made no complaints about any of it but it was rather apparent what was ailing the older man when he couldn't keep up.

The sun was lowering itself in the sky as it cloaked itself with hues of rusty red and purple. Kanda glared at the sunset as he realized that they only had two hours at most before they wouldn't be able to find their way in the dark. He gave the order to make camp for the night and the two warriors found a sparse area in which to settle. They hunted once again for food, this time catching some sort of bird creature that Kanda just stared at, having given up the hope of having any normal food anytime soon.

As the last few rays of the sun shone through the canopy of the forest, the dark haired warrior grunted in the direction of his travel companion, who was trying to make himself comfortable on the small patch of grass that he found, and motioned for him to come over. Kanda almost took it back when he saw the small, casual smirk slide into place on the Colonel's face as he got up to walk over.

"Wow Kanda, you are actually calling me into your personal space? I would have thought you would have taken advantage of the fact that we were outside with endless freedom to stay as far away from me as possible."

Kanda stared up at the man from where he sat on the ground, wondering why the words, obviously intending to irritate him, didn't bother him. "Sit." Jade frowned at the odd request but sat down in front of the samurai. Kanda locked eyes with the man for a moment before he raised himself up to his knees and maneuvered so that he was directly behind the brunette. Jade instantly tensed up with Kanda at his back, wondering what the other man could possibly be doing. He started slightly when he felt hands settle gently on his shoulders. Kanda used his thumbs to dig in gently and began to rub in small circles along Jade's upper back, giving special attention to the areas that he knew were sore from the previous night. Before he knew it, the brunette had relaxed into the touch as the warm hands and skilled fingers worked magic on the tense knots that had plagued him throughout the day. The younger man soon found his way to the mid back and encountered tenseness. As he massaged that out as well, Jade could attribute each one to an event or stress due to his job as military commander; dealing with incompetent underlings, reporting bad news to the emperor, traveling from one end of the world to another. Bit by bit all of it flowed out of him as Kanda tacitly rubbed his lower back, then his neck. His mind relaxed and everything calmly, slowly faded away until he seamlessly drifted off to sleep.

Kanda kept at it diligently, intently. He wouldn't be side tracked by the fact that the man had literally melted at his touch, turning to putty in his hands. He wouldn't let the rippling muscles he felt beneath his hands that rivaled his own take his attention from him. He got satisfaction from hearing the soft groans as he kneaded those certain knots or the sighs as tension was released and pure bliss was expressed on Jade's face. It was at this distance that Kanda observed the older man in the waning wisps of light; the ends of his hair as they tickled his face every time the Colonel moved, the solid muscles built under the soft looking body and layered uniform, and the amount of responsibility this man carried on his shoulders. He marveled at the fact that the man had even let him do such a thing without worry of an attack or some other form of betrayal.

Kanda could tell the moment that the red-eyed man had nodded off; he had a lap full of Jade when he leaned back into him, and light, even breaths could be heard. Kanda gazed at Jade for a moment more before sliding out from his position as a pillow, and rearranging the man so he could sleep much more comfortably and not have a similar issue the next day. With an internal sigh and a not completely unwelcome feeling of contentment, Kanda settled himself a little ways away, still at the ready with Mugen at his side. By morning, they would be reaching new terrain, and if what he had seen in the forest was anything to go by, he could handle it easily enough. Even so, it never hurt to be prepared.

~~~~break~~~~

"Colonel!" A dark blob shouted form the sky as it fell, leaving a depression in the ground before it plowed over a surprised Jade. Kanda blinked as he slowly walked up behind the older man and, hearing a strange sound, looked up at the sky only to see a dark shadow as the Albiore made to land in the open clearing before them.

"Ugh. Anise, please get off of me," came the slightly muffled voice of the colonel.

"Jade! Kanda!" voices yelled as both Luke and Tear ran down the newly opened ramp of the plane in their rush to see the two. The dark haired man had to admit that he was rather surprised to hear his name called. Luke was the first to reach them, coming to an abrupt stop, followed closely by Tear and, somewhat in the distance at a more normal pace, Natalia walked to meet them. The expression on Tear's face seemed as though it couldn't decide on anger or worry before finally settling on irritation.

"Where have you two been? We've been searching everywhere for you guys for two days!" The woman's hands found their way to her hips and planted themselves there, one hip cocked out to the side in a show of frustration, her eyes running over the both of them. Jade, finally released from the storm that was Anise, took charge of the situation before the females could let it get out of hand. If that happened, he knew there would just be a lot of apologizing on his part.

"After the akuma attack, we went back to the clearing and everyone was gone, as was our stuff. We've been making our way out of the forest since then." At the mention of the akuma attack all eyes turned to Kanda, Guy having finally caught up with them. One dark eyebrow rose and Kanda averted his eyes. He was not going to be having a question and answer session. Sensing that the samurai was not going to cooperate any time soon, Jade pushed on. "What happened?"

Ion slowly peeked around the three blocking his way. "As you know, I was recalled to Daath. When I got there I was informed that something had been attacking some of the main forces of the Order of Lorelei. After talking to Tear, Luke and Guy about what you guys encountered in the forest, it sounds to me like akuma are attacking these groups. I had most of them recalled until we could figure out what to do with them, but some were undertaking missions that were of the utmost importance. Kanda," the Fon Master stared fiercely into the taller man's eyes. "I would greatly appreciate it if you would tell us all that you can about these creatures so that I can best help my followers, Kanda."

Jade smirked as Kanda tossed his head the side with a 'Tch'. "I already told you, there's nothing that you can do but let me fight them, or better yet, get me in contact with the Black Order." Ion just continued to stare in to the midnight eyes, the others stepping out of their line of sight and watching. Kanda eyed the frail boy, growl growing in his throat, pissed off aura almost tangible. Finally realizing that if he wanted anything to go his way he would have to give some ground, he bit out, "Get on the fucking plane."With that he shoved past everyone and started up the ramp, a loud rattling tracing each of his steps.

Ion closed his eyes and gave a grateful sigh before turning to face the Albiore. "Well everyone, let's go to see the Emperor. We can talk on the way there." With a nod, he followed the angry man onto the plane and the others followed him, Jade tailing the group, a wide grin on his face.

~~~~break~~~~

"Okay, explain." The group of them sat around a small table toward the back of the Albiore. The space was a bit cramped but it was the only area that they could all fit; no one wanted to pass up this conversation. Jade was just thoroughly enjoying teasing the younger man and just sat silently.

Kanda's eyes danced from one person to the next angrily. "What do you want to know?" he grit out.

Ion sat forward, leaning his arms on the wooden table. "Why don't you first explain what exactly the akuma are."

Kanda tried to think of a way to make this conversation as succinct as possible. "There is a being called the Millenium Earl. He has an unknown goal but to achieve it, he creates akuma."

"Yes, but what exactly _are_-,"Luke began before being silenced by a deadly glare. He didn't doubt that the man would follow through with the threatening glint in his eyes and kill him if he spoke another word.

"If you want me to talk, then let me talk," the older man bit out before continuing. "Akuma are created when the soul of a dead human is bound to a machine. They take over the body of the one who called them back to this side of the grave and use that body to get close to, and kill, other humans. This causes more death and tragedy and allows the whole thing to begin again. It is our goal as Exorcists to defeat the Millenium Earl." Everyone waited silently, not wanting to interrupt if the man wasn't finished. After a few seconds, a collective breath was released.

Jade figured that this was the perfect point to bring up his earlier question. "So Kanda, why then is it that only this Innocence can kill and akuma? If they are just machines as you said, it would seem to me that anything that can destroy a machine would be able to kill one."

Kanda grunted. "The machine parts of the akuma are made from Dark Matter, a material only the Earl and his Noah can produce. The only mineral that opposes Dark Matter is the Innocence which is only compatible with one person. Once that person is found, a weapon suiting both them and the Innocence itself is forged to fight the akuma since no one else can use that person's weapon." His sentences were short, concise, and to the point. Luke leaned forward as if he was going to ask another question and Kanda really just thought about punching him in the face. Hopefully a broken jaw would inspire the boy to keep his mouth shut. Luckily, for the redhead, Guy placed a restricting hand on Luke's arm and the boy took the hint. He seemed to be the only one to not understand that if he valued his life, he would avoid pissing off the one who could skillfully wield a deadly blade as much as possible. At this thought, Kanda twitched, and midnight eyes roamed and found themselves meeting a crimson pair.

_Well, him along with a certain Colonel, _he thought. Yet he couldn't help admitting to himself that the military clad man didn't seem to grate on him the way others did anymore. He found himself wanting to spend more time with Jade than the others, actually caring about some of what he said, and willing to fall asleep in front of the man. The last one was a big step for him. For Kanda, that practically meant surrender, and he wondered what had happened to let him feel the way that he did, tossing aside precautions knowingly, to satisfy this feeling.

"Grand Chokmah in sight. Landing outside of the royal city," announced Noelle's voice from the front of the ship, turning heads in her direction. They could feel the Albiore begin to descend.

Ion turned back to stare at Kanda across the table. "Thank you Kanda for this information. At the very least I can warn my soldiers not to try and engage these creatures should they encounter them." Kanda rolled his eyes; as if he hadn't told them as much.

"One last question though, before we land." The princess had been silent for quite a while now, and only asked this question after taking in everything else that she had heard. The dark haired man just stared. "Do all of the akuma look like the ones we fought in the forest?" At this question everyone else's ears perked up. It would definitely be a good thing for them to know.

"No. The ones that I fought were only Level 1, the easiest to defeat. So far we have encountered up through Level 4 akuma. The Level 2 gain individualized abilities that they maintain through a Level 3 transformation, in addition to gaining tough armor. We have only ever fought one Level 4 but believe me, that was enough." Both Jade and Guy were sat with wide eyes. As brusque as the man was, neither could fathom him admitting that there may be something that he couldn't win against in a fight. These Level 4 akuma must be something to behold then, something that they would all do well to stay away from.

Jade came to first and stood from the table as he felt the landing wheels of the Albiore touch down safely on the ground. "Well, let's all collect our things. We had to land outside of the city so we have to walk a bit I'm afraid."

Ion nodded. "Hopefully we can get this treaty together and move forward in our plan to lower the lands."

_And then maybe I can get back to the fucking Order instead of being stuck here,_ thought Kanda.

A/N: Hey there, soooooooooo sorry about the wait for this last chapter. I promise that I still exist! It's just that between school, work, and trying to put my life together, something had to give. Hopefully I won't disappear for two months again before the next chappy but in all honesty, I make no promises. Just rest assured that this story WILL be finished. I can't stand people that start one up and then just drop it in the middle, especially when it was really good! So it will get written, it just might take a while. This chapter wasn't Beta-d but I hope it was okay. As always, feel free to review, preferably something constructive. =)


	7. Chapter 6

A sea of people surrounded her as Lenalee tried to make her way back to the inn. She, Lavi, Marie and Allen had been waiting in the large imperial city of Grand Chokmah since they reached the Outer Lands. An inn they found on the edge of the city served as their haven at night while they slept. The daylight hours were used to gather information about the where they were and the world they now found themselves in. They also made a trip to the palace gates twice a day to ask the guards for any news of a party of visitors that matched the description that Mayor Teodoro had given them. So far, Kanda had yet to arrive; though they were only there a few days. There were many strange things the four Exorcists had discovered about the new world. The people acted the same but there were things they had never heard of: the Order of Lorelei, land floating in the sky and sinking, fonons and fonstones, Emperors and strange creatures. They had definitely gotten some weird looks when asking questions. The short haired girl was sure that at this point, nothing much would surprise her anymore. Shaking her head, she started walking again, realizing that she had stopped in her mental flashback. There were three hungry men waiting for her after all.

Shifting the two large brown bags that she balanced in her arms, Lenalee continued on her way back to the inn. Somehow she had been stuck doing temporary groceries. Since they only had limited funds from black Allen's gambling bouts, they couldn't afford to eat out. Nowhere was cheap enough and served enough food to satiate the white haired general. They also had to pay for their single room at the cheapest inn they could find. Even as it was, he was barely getting enough to eat and Lenalee knew that they all worried about what would happen when it all caught up to him.

Before she knew it, the sun began to fall in the sky, its goodbye rays peeking between the tall, marble buildings of the imperial city.

"Hello my dear. What is a beautiful young girl like you doing out on your own?" a voice called out from behind the Exorcist. _Ah, so at least this is familiar. Some things never change no matter where you go,_ Lenalee thought as she sighed. Turning around, eyes closed and with an overly bright smile on her face, she responded, "Oh, I'm just on my way home. Have to hurry with people waiting on me. No need to worry." And she turned back and continued walking on. She felt a hand fall lightly on her arm, and frowned, pausing. She really hoped she didn't have to fight him off.

"Hey now. Why don't you let me walk you home then? It can be kind of dangerous out here on your own, even if it _is_ the imperial city."

About to tell him off, the girl whirled around to face the unknown man only to find a sincere smile and gentle blue eyes, clear as water. His faced was encased in a halo of layered blond hair, the left side of which was enclosed in a large, blue bead, and his skin had a lovely tan to it. He looked young and wore clothes similar to what others in the city wore, though maybe of a higher grade material; the girl had never really made time for fashion. A light blush came to Lenalee's face as she took in the sight of the man who stood in the waning, golden light of the sun. Being the rational girl that she was, and having fought as many akuma as she had, Lenalee knew to be wary of strangers no matter how they looked. She knew that she could take care of herself should anything happen, despite her brother's comments, so surely there was no harm in letting the man, who probably knew the city much better than her, accompany her to the inn. Still stunned, Lenalee nodded shyly. The man smiled kindly. "Then let me help you with your bags."

Rationalizing that carrying the bags would be a hindrance if she had to defend herself, the Chinese girl surrendered the uncomfortable brown burdens. She walked slowly now, taking her time getting back; the boys could wait. She noticed that many people gave a half bow to the blond man as they walked by, many completely stopping what they were doing to do so, and everyone seemed to have a smile for him. She began to wonder exactly who her escort was. As they approached the inn, the blond man next to her garnered a frown on his face. She turned to him.

"Something wrong?" she asked. He came to a stop and faced her.

"You are a beautiful young woman. Your clothes are made from very fine materials and you seem well taken care of, yet you are shopping on your own, carrying your own groceries, and staying in one of the cheapest inns in the city. Why is that exactly?"

Lenalee frowned. She had only worn what she had come in: her updated Exorcist uniform; the form fitting, black jacket and skirt, lined in red, her stockings, and flats. It was actually the biggest reminder that they were far from home: absolutely no one had recognized their outfits anywhere they had gone. The blond took in the dark haired girl's appearance again and Lenalee's face warmed at the attention. "Ah! Well we should probably get inside before it gets too chilly," she said, avoiding his question, and skipped her way to the entrance of the inn, the bronzed man following soon after.

As they walked in, Lenalee immediately spotted one head of fiery red hair, and one of the palest white. Marie stood out sitting at another table nearby with his headphones, taking in the lively atmosphere. "Lavi! Allen, Marie, I'm back." Allen and Lavi looked up, Allen from his poker game and Lavi from peeking over the boy's shoulder, probably in an attempt to learn his secrets. Marie cocked his ear in her direction, a smile gracing his lips. The two card engrossed players waved back.

"Hey Lenalee!" Allen shot up from the table, cards flying everywhere, effectively ending the game. The men at the table grunted, but not too loudly; if the white-headed demon decided to come back, he'd surely clean them out more than before. "Food!" And the young general became a blur of white, black and red before he stood eagerly in front of the Chinese girl. He suddenly became aware of her escort.

"Lenalee, who is this?" he asked, giving the blond, tan man a once over, but still finding room for a smile on his face. Lavi bounced his way over, draping himself over the growling vortex, a frown on his face at not discovering the other's cheating tactics. Marie stood silently and walked over to join them, leaving space in case a fight ensued.

"Moyashi, who's your new friend?" Allen glared silently at Lavi, fists clenched.

"Lavi, I have a name! Just because Kanda refuses to use what few brain cells he has to remember it does not give you permission to call me that." The redhead ignored Allen's outburst and stared expectantly at Lenalee who just laughed.

"This man was kind enough to escort me back to the inn. His name is…," she glanced at the man.

"Peony," he answered with a grin. "My name is Peony." Lavi didn't miss the red tinge to their female friend's face. He also noticed Peony's expectant and confused expression and wondered what was going on beneath the surface. It seemed as if he had expected a certain reaction from them. Was he well known? There was something odd about the man in Lavi's eyes; something that should be obvious to one as well studied as him.

"Well, it's nice to meet you Peony. I'm Allen. This is my friend Lavi and that behind him is Marie. It seems that you already know Lenalee." The general put out his gloved hand for the man to shake, always willing to make a good first impression. Peony took it, a large laugh bellowing out from him. Blond locks flittered around his face as Peony bent over doubled. Lenalee looked rather worried.

"Are you okay Peony?"

"I-," he tried to speak. "I'm fine. It's just-This situation is just funny to me." When he finally stopped laughing, the strange man managed to wipe a tear from his eye.

"What's so funny?" Lavi was always up for a good joke. Peony just flapped a hand as if to pass the moment.

"It's nothing. In any case, I think I'll stay the night here in this inn." Allen's eyebrow rose.

"Not to be rude, but why? It seems obvious that this wasn't your first plan. And you look like you could afford to stay in a much better inn." The boy had taken in the quality of the material of the man's simple outfit. A quick glance at the four of them had a bright grin on the blue eyed man's face.

"I think I've finally found some interesting company," was all Peony said before hailing the owner and arranging for a room to stay the night.

~~~~break~~~~

"Lenalee, who was that man?" Marie asked. The four Exorcists walked down the halls of the inn toward their room. The girl just shook her head in response. She knew little more than they did.

"In any case," started the redhead, placing his hands behind his head as they walked, "we need to find out what is going on with Yuu and this group that he's with. So far the guards haven't been able to tell us anything. That or they've been ordered not to say anything. I say that if we can't find out tomorrow, we go talk to this emperor person that they're supposed to meet and find out what he knows."

"Lavi, you really think that we can just walk in and talk to the emperor?" Allen asked skeptically.

"Well Moyashi, I'm sure he has audiences with the people at some point, so yeah. And if not, it's not as if we can't just find another way in." Lenalee looked abashed for a moment before the redhead figured her desire to find their friend overpowered it. In all honesty, Lavi just wanted a chance to inspect the palace. A low deep voice spoke up from behind them.

"If it will help us find Kanda then I think we should do it. I do not want to have to explain to General Tiedoll that we couldn't find his son because we didn't try hard enough." The others pictured a scene of the older man bawling his eyes out, an almost empty box of tissues at his side and a mountain of used ones surrounding him. Allen nodded.

"Yeah, I wouldn't want to make him any more worked up than he already gets. I guess we're going in the morning."

The four walked into their single room; it was all they could afford with barely any money. There were only two beds and the decision had long ago been made that Marie and Lenalee would share a bed, and Lavi and Allen would share the other. Lenalee slid into the bathroom to change into her nightclothes, the only other set any of them had seen fit to buy, while the men changed in the main room. Allen was exhausted. Because of the small amount of money he was able to make off of gambling after others realized he never lost, there was barely enough to feed the whole group, much less his monstrous parasitic type stomach. He had been feeling rather weak for the past few days, living on minimum.

Having changed, the white haired boy plopped onto the bed face first before adjusting himself for sleep, sliding over onto his side of the bed. Marie, having heard the sound, just shook his head while waiting for Lenalee to get into bed first. Lavi couldn't be more ecstatic about the sleeping arrangements. He got the adorable white haired boy all to himself. Noticing that Allen had already fallen asleep, Lavi made sure everyone was settled before shutting off the lights and slipping under the covers behind the younger boy. He shifted slightly closer until he could smell the soft scent of shampoo from the boy's hair and feel the warmth radiating from his body. Ever so gently, the redhead slid an arm around the general's waist, a soft smile on his face as he closed his eyes.

~~~~break~~~~

Kanda was getting irritated. No. Kanda was _way_ past irritated. He was fully fledged on his way to blowing up. After having arrived outside the capital city, Grand Chokmah, and making their way to the palace, the group found, much to their surprise, many frantic people rushing about. When Jade had stopped one of them to ask what was going on, they greeted him befitting his station before asking in a panicked voice if he knew where the emperor was. Everyone's eyebrows had risen. The emperor was missing? Apparently he had gone out for a walk. That in itself wasn't unusual; he often liked to wander among his citizens, getting to know them on their turf. What was odd was that he had yet to return. This irked the samurai. He had been hoping that all this treaty stuff could be done and over with so that someone could help get him home. They had decided to stay the night and hope that the ruler of Malkuth would have arrived late in the night.

Now they were returning to the palace from a long search through the city. No one knew what may have become of their emperor. Many had seen him about but no one knew where he had gone after speaking with them for a time.

"Perhaps he has already returned and is somewhere in the castle?" Jade put forth. He hadn't seemed all that worried in the morning, but now as midday was coming around and there was no sign of his childhood friend, the brunette was getting a little concerned. Kanda saw the man's slight fidgeting and shorter temper and suddenly felt the need to find the emperor. They just needed to talk to him soon; it had absolutely nothing to do with making Jade feel better….

Kanda was pissed at the stupid leader for making his life so difficult; the palace was fucking _huge_, and now they had to search it. They decided to split into two groups and look around, ignoring the scurrying servants, advisors, and other palace workers who had also spread out to hunt. Kanda, Jade, Tear and Natalia were in one group, while Guy, Luke, Ion, and Anise were in the other. The swordsman growled before finally pushing ahead and stomping off, ready to slice up the man who was causing him more than one type of problem.

~~~~break~~~~

"I'm good, aren't I?" The group of Exorcists, plus one blond haired man, stood just inside a side entrance to the palace. Lenalee had gone to check at the gate again and, having not been allowed into the castle by the guards after hearing that Kanda's group still had not arrived, Lavi had led the Exorcists to a hidden side entrance that no one could quite figure out how he knew about. The guards had been agitated about something. The girl recalled hearing a statement about someone being missing, but it hadn't been any of her business. Crouching under the low doorframe, Allen emerged as the last one into the castle, straightening out his coat and adjusting his white gloves.

"Well, we're in," Marie's deep voice reverberated in the large, open halls of the palace, ignoring the redhead. Lavi pouted and frowned, not liking being ignored. Allen, seeing this, rolled his eyes.

"Yes Lavi. You did good." Light shone from the redhead's single, green eye and a grin lit up his face. He puffed up, closing his eyes and took a stance, standing proudly.

"Why thank you Moyashi-chan for finally realizing my brilliance. It's nice to be appreciated. My intelligence is just so subtle sometimes that _most_ people miss it." At this the boy opened his eye and gave a look to the tall, black man. Realizing the error of his motion and that the man wouldn't see the look, Lavi returned to his normal energy before suggesting that they begin their search. Lenalee, having watched the whole thing, just giggled before walking in a random direction down the hall, Peony at her side. The blond seemed to have made it his place to accompany her as her escort wherever she went. The boys weren't quite sure how to respond to that.

"So we're looking for the emperor, right?" the short haired girl asked, pausing for a moment. They had agreed that finding the ruler might be the most direct way to find out if Kanda and his group had really arrived yet and they just weren't being told. Well, Lavi hadn't agreed, but the rest of them were pretty sure that it was only because he just wanted to continue sneaking around the palace and pretend to be a spy. None of them quite knew what this man would look like, but they were pretty sure they would recognize the haughty air and powerful disposition held by most rulers when they encountered him.

"Well," Peony began, an excited smile on his tanned face, "let's get started."

~~~~break~~~~

Tear had come to the realization that being around both Kanda and Jade was both dangerous and thoroughly entertaining. The two bickered, the Colonel purposely baiting the younger man into retaliating. It honestly didn't take much to get the swordsman riled up. She was a bit more comfortable around him now, and not as worried about the dark haired man's constant blow ups and death threats; after all, he had never followed through on them. She didn't want to be complacent, but she relaxed a little around him. It also helped that the young princess was with them, bow at the ready.

Tear could see the glint in the brunette man's eyes when they had these little arguments. He was enjoying them to a degree that the Oracle Knight had never thought possible. Jade would smile much more freely and there was a lot more warmth on his face when he did so. She didn't know the younger man that well, but she could see some similar reactions in him. She was pretty sure that the reason he had barely complained about searching for Peony when they returned to the palace was that he could see how much it was beginning to worry the older man. This was all something that the brown haired girl was going to keep to herself a while longer, intervening only if necessary. Jade had mentioned to them once, not quite being able to understand the value of a human life, not being able to comprehend what death truly meant. Maybe this would be a good thing for him.

She smiled as she walked ahead of the two, hearing Jade tease the man about getting permanent frown marks on his face.

~~~~break~~~~

"So tell me again why we're not just going straight to the throne room Lavi?" The group had been wandering the large halls of the palace for the better part of an hour. Allen was pretty sure that they were just indulging the redhead at this point because he had seemed so put down at the fact that they couldn't explore the castle as a spy. Lenalee's divergence from the plan stemmed from the fact that she didn't seem to mind having this new, blond stranger as an escort. The two seemed to want to enjoy their time in this new world as much as they could. Once they met the emperor, they would have a lot of reasons to leave this world, even if only for a short time. At the very least, they would need to report back to Komui on what had happened.

Lavi paused in his self proclaimed 'stealth walk' to give a patronizing look to Allen. "We obviously can't just _walk_ right into the throne room Moyashi-chan. We're not supposed to be here. Hopefully we can find someone helpful somewhere else in this palace."

"Oh yes. Silly me," the boy rolled his eyes. As Lavi turned back to his ministrations, Allen decided not to point out the flaws in the boy's plan and ruin his fun. It was highly unlikely that they were just going to find someone who worked in the palace who would willingly direct strangers to their ruler. There was also the fact that it was practically the exact opposite of what they had agreed on earlier.

Marie's deep bass rang out behind Allen. "Hey Lavi, isn't that plan the exact oppos-,"

"Hey!" A shout cut off the blind man from further down the hall, and Allen realized that they had stopped walking as they debated. Peony stood a ways away, Lenalee on his arm. "We found something interesting over here. We're going to check it out." And with that, the two walked into a door that looked just like all the rest. Lavi and Allen looked between themselves while Marie just kind of turned his head in their general direction. They did not want to leave the female Exorcist alone with the strange man. As much as she could take care of herself, she was just a bit too enamored with the man.

"I'll stay with them." The tall, dark man offered. "You two continue searching for Kanda."The other two nodded before moving on down the hall. Marie took steps to follow where Peony and Lenalee had gone as a soft smell hit his nose. I smelled like an animal and was soon followed by a collection of excited noises. The Exorcist quickened his pace and stepped into the room. "What's going on in here?" he asked worriedly. He could tell that there were a lot of 'something's in the room.

He could hear the energy in her voice as Lenalee answered him. "Marie, apparently these creatures are called rappigs; they're so cute! They look like a cross between a pig and a spotted rabbit." As the noise from earlier became louder, he could only suspect that the girl was holding one…what was it? Rappig, up to his face.

He let out a sigh of relief that there was no danger around. "That's nice Lenalee. We are, however, trying to find Kanda, remember?" The girl sounded put down as a small sigh reached Marie's sensitive ears.

"Yes, you're right." Lenalee turned to Peony. "We should probably get going."

The blond man smiled. "Yes. I suppose you're right. You are trying to find your friend after all. The one who's here to meet the emperor, right? Just let me feed these poor guys first. They don't look like they've eaten yet today." Lenalee frowned. How could Peony know something like that? She asked him. "Their food dishes are spotlessly empty and they keep licking at my hands is as if they are searching for food." Oh. Of course. Peony found a box of food for the rappigs in a corner and began filling the food bowls that were spread out across the room. A few different rappigs followed the man to each bowl as if they all knew which one was theirs. Lenalee wondered if they should really be feeding someone else's pets, but then figured that the worst case was that they got fed twice in one day. While she waited for the man to finish, a scene could be seen of a short haired girl playing happily with a curious little rappig that cried for attention.

~~~~break~~~~

"Hey Guy?" Luke turned to his bodyguard, a few feet ahead of the Fon Master and Anise.

"Hn? What's up?"

"Has Jade been acting a little bit different to you? Lately he seems, I don't know, _different_." Guy had to smile at that. The red haired warrior was frowning, returned to his deep thoughts. Guy had noticed immediately the changes in Jade's behavior and had soon realized that it was all explicitly relative to that newcomer's actions. Sure Jade could be sarcastic and taunting and sadistic, but from everything Guy had seen, it was all more so to do with Kanda. The swordsman didn't know exactly what it was that was causing the change in the Colonel, but he had definitely had glimpses in his few sparring matches with the long haired man. Kanda's brusque, tacit, and defiant nature appeared to mesh oddly well with that of the Colonel. There was also the fact that Jade had been unanimously placed to keep guard on Kanda at night. Guy didn't know what happened those nights; words spoken behind closed doors tended stay there, but the blond would bet that some interesting things were shared, especially if it could keep Jade up for those many nights in a row.

All in all, Kanda seemed to be opening Jade up a bit, and that was in no way a bad thing in Guy's book. The man could stand to loosen up a bit. Guy chuckled again and Luke stared at him.

"Yup. He does seem to be a bit different. But I think different is okay."

~~~~break~~~~

"Ouch! Ow, Allen, can't breathe!" Lavi clawed at the white ribbon bindings around his neck. The young general looked back at the redhead he was dragging behind him, Innocence activated as a large, white cloak lay on his shoulders.

"Will you promise to stop trying to ninja climb the walls and help me search?"

"Yes! Yes! Anything, yes!" Lavi raised his hands protectively around his neck as soon as he was free and Crown Clown was deactivated. "Yeesh. There was no need to be so harsh Moyashi-chan."

Allen gave a glare that Kanda would have been proud of. "Somehow Lavi, you are not taking this seriously. Your best friend is missing in an entirely different world and all you can think about is if the laws of physics are the same here." Allen threw his arms up in the air in exasperation. Lavi's smile turned from mischievous to more caring as he stared at the younger boy. He loved how protective Allen got of all his friends. As much as he declared hatred for the other Exorcist, Lavi could easily see the care and worry that the younger boy had for Kanda.

"Of course I care about Yuu. But think about it, if he's in the hands of a group that's coming to meet the _emperor_ of a country, they worst they could really have done to him is imprison him, in which case we would break him out. But honestly, from what Mayor Teodoro said, it didn't sound like Yuu was really being held captive as much as watched over, which I'm quite sure he's pissed about. In the meantime, I think it would be more useful for us to have some more information about this country, something we can gain a lot of insight from by looking at both the rulers and the citizens. This might be the best time to do so."

Allen stared at Lavi dumbfounded. Sometimes it irritated him how smart the redhead could be. Allen closed his eyes in thought. Lavi was right; they may not have as much of a chance to explore freely after having met the emperor. He sighed, opening his eyes. "All right, we'll-."

The redhead was gone.

Whirling around, Allen spotted him dashing around a corner into another corridor. Tick marks made their way to the Exorcist's face.

"LAVI!"

~~~~break~~~~

Kanda was dead in the midst of enjoying some banter with Jade when a shout echoed through the halls. "LAVI!"

Kanda stopped mid-word. The others paused, wary of the unexpected noise, Tear inching her hand toward her weapon.

"Moyashi?" and all turned to Kanda. He immediately dashed off in the direction that the voice had come from.

"Kanda, wait," Tear called as she jogged to catch up, the princess and the Colonel behind her. There was the sound of footsteps fast approaching before something vibrantly red crashed into the samurai. Kanda stumbled back, thrown off balance, while the red attrocity toppled to the floor.

A surprised yell of "Yuu!" from the floor called Mugen forth before the sword wielder even had time to register the presence of the most annoying redhead he knew. Before he could bite out a threat, another person dressed in black and red stormed down the hall. The only part of him that wasn't black and red was his gloves and his hair, both a stark white. As he approached it was easy to tell that he was much younger than he appeared at first glance, the white hair framing a soft, young face.

When the white haired boy had almost reached them, he paused, taking in the scene: Lavi on his butt on the ground, a sword with a familiar glint pointed at his throat. "Kanda?" came a questioning voice.

"Moyashi," Kanda deadpanned.

Instantly there was a change in the attitude of the boy coming toward them as the 'Moyashi' resumed his storm down the hall. Lavi noticed the adjustment in the boy and made the intelligent decision: he scooted out of the way. Kanda bit out a "che" after being slightly taken aback. He could sense Natalia, Jade, and Tear standing stiffly off behind him, still lost in confusion, though Jade looked as if things were starting to fall into place for him.

Kanda lowered Mugen, blade pointed to the floor, when the white haired boy stomped up to him, lifted both his arms, and shoved Kanda as hard as he could. Taken by surprise twice in the same moment, the long haired man fell back to the floor, sword clattering to the side.

"What the fu-,"he started before being interrupted.

"Kanda, you ass! Where the _hell_ have you been? Do you have any idea how long we've been here searching for you? We've been here nearly a week with no money! I've had to live on scraps for food and no thanks to you, I'm _starving!_"

The boy was panting at the end of his rant but Kanda's midnight eyes had narrowed to slits.

"What makes you thing that I give a fuck Moyashi? I've been trapped here with no way out and all you can whine about is food?" He stood up and got in Allen's face.

"You know very well why I need food, and by the way, the name's Allen. A-L-L-E-N. I still cannot fathom why that is _so_ difficult for you to remember." Allen's gloved hand fisted at his side while the other flew up in a dramatic display of amazement.

"Maybe it's because I don't name my food," Kanda retorted, crossing his arms in front of him. Lavi couldn't hold it in any longer. The forgotten redhead burst into uncontrollable laughter as he held his stomach and leaned against the nearest wall.

Jade, Tear, and Natalia stood on in awe. All three could swear that there was actual lightning sparking between the two standing and an uproar of flames in the background. Just as it looked like the two were going to continue their bickering, Jade stepped in to put a stop to it. "Kanda, would you mind telling us what's going on? Who are these people and why are they in the emperor's palace?"

At the mention of the palace Lavi's laughter was cut short and Allen gained a sheepish look. The Colonel frowned at this. It was the redhead who finally answered, dragging himself off of the floor. "We're friends of Yuu. We were here to talk to the emperor, ironically enough, about when you would be arriving." Jade felt an unusual pang and tightness in his chest at the fact that the redhead had called Kanda by his first name. He remembered what the navy haired man had said about only letting those close to him call him that. He couldn't help but wonder the relationship these two had. This feeling was somewhat admonished when the samurai glared at the redhead, snapping at him for being so familiar. "I'm Lavi by the way."

The other boy remembered his manners as well as he introduced himself. "I'm sorry. Kanda's such a bad influence on me. My name is Allen Walker."

Natalia stepped forward, regal as ever, brows still furrowed in slight confusion, as Tear followed. "I am Natalia Luzu Kimlasca-Lanvaldear, princess of Kimlasca. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Tear slid into a casual fighting stance, ready for anything from the newcomers, before she introduced herself. "Tear Grants, Oracle Knight." Kanda wondered why the brunette man decided to speak last as he always had something to add to a situation. The man walked slowly around everyone else to stand before Allen and Lavi, a serious expression on his face.

"And I am Jade Curtiss, Colonel of the Malkuth Empire as well as advisor to the emperor." Ah, there it was. Lavi soaked up the new information. Mayor Teodoro hadn't had time to fill them in completely on the members of Kanda's little gallivanting group, so the emphasis on how important this Jade character was to the emperor made him think it might not have been such a good idea to get caught. They all held such high sounding titles that both Lavi and Allen decided that it would be a bad idea to get on their bad sides. In any case, Kanda didn't seem like he was in trouble.

Allen looked uncomfortable as he fidgeted a bit under the red eyed man's stern gaze. A smirk made its way onto Kanda's face, ecstatic that the red eyed man could make the Moyashi squirm with just a look. He also noticed the tighter, more clipped tone in Jade's voice. Kanda assumed that he was still worried about his missing ruler, and as much as the dark haired man wanted to help him, he was becoming more and more aggravated at the amount of attention and effort that Jade was putting into finding the man, emperor or not.

"It just so happens that we are looking for the emperor as well and he appears to be missing. I don't suppose you would know anything about that?"

~~~~break~~~~

A/N: So I realized that I'm pretty much apologizing each chapter so I figure I should just let it be officially known that there is no regular updating schedule for this, though it will most definitely be completed. I hope everyone liked this chapter. It had been floating around in my head for a while as I decided how to play it out. I had to finally force myself to sit in front of the computer and turn thought into written word. Sorry if there are any inconsistencies, especially on the Tales side; it's been quite a while since I've played the game. There are also officially too many characters in the Abyss side of this story. I got halfway through the whole castle search scene bit before I realized that I had lost Natalia somewhere in the storyboard and had to go back and write her in. I get a little too engrossed in other parts of the story. So the Peony thing, I just couldn't help myself! I thought of it and got so excited that there was no way that it wasn't going to happen. There were also other random spurts of ideas that may or may not continue, such as a slight bit of Laven. I'm also trying out a few different writing styles as I'm writing this so if some parts seem odd or different, that's why. If it doesn't work, feel free to let me know in either a PM or a review. Thanks to all my constant readers and those who recently started reading. Your comments make me happy and help more than you probably realize in making me not lose confidence in this story. Well, on to chapter 7!


	8. Chapter 7

Road decided that it was the perfect time to play by herself in her room. She sat on the floor, surrounded by her multicolored walls, and picked up a doll, pulling on the arms. The Earl was not in a good mood. She and Tyki had returned from their adventure in the other world and had even brought back someone to turn into an akuma. They had come up with a great plan: they would take out the strongest fighting forces in the countries of the world before extending their akuma resources. This would dash the hope of the humans while they could build up their akuma forces in a place where those annoying Exorcists would have a very hard time stopping them.

It would have all been a great plan too, if that dratted Exorcist hadn't been with the group they were targeting. Now a good collection of their newly made akuma was destroyed and the Earl was mad at her and Tyki. Sure they had managed a few successful attacks, like the one aimed at the Oracle Knights, but it was the one that had counted that they had failed.

Road laid back on her floor, the doll held above her, the hair drooping downward. The girl's golden eyes shifted to the door as someone walked into her room.

"Uncle Tyki! What brings you here? Did you want to play with me?" The spiky haired girl deftly rolled over onto her stomach, colorful outfit clashing wonderfully with the carpet. She swung her legs happily as a smile lit her face. The finely dressed man looked down at her, a disbelieving look in his golden eyes, before he shook his head and went to sit in a nearby rocking chair, legs crossed.

"I'm sure you're aware that our dear Earl is not in a good mood." Tyki leaned his face on a gloved hand to stare at the girl. Road sighed and pouted, pulling hard on the dolls arms.

"Yes. How were we to know that that long haired Exorcist was going to be there? I wish I could have been there; he's the one who killed Skin after all. I could have avenged him." At this the dolls arms almost ripped off. Tyki rolled his eyes but didn't say anything. He knew how deep Road's attachment to her family went.

"It appears that the Earl wants us to collect some of our best akuma and go personally to make sure the job gets carried out this time. We have a list." The man slid a card out of his shirt pocket. He twirled it on a corner and balanced it on his fingertip. On the backside was a black and white tessellation pattern. The front looked as if it were a jail cell as bars ran up and down the face. Inside was a small creature dressed in black and white with a mop. Its card cell was decorated with a list of names, among which were Luke fon Fabre, Fon Master Ion, and Anise Tatlin.

Road shifted so that she sat on her feet, her smile now wide and sadistic. "And when do we leave?" Besides making the Earl be in a happier mood, she might even find some new, fun toys to play with.

Tyki gained a similar sadistic glint in his eyes. He covered his face with one hand as his eyes widened and his pupils contracted impossibly small, his smile taking up a large portion of his face. "Soon. Very soon."

~~~~break~~~~

For a change of pace, it wasn't Kanda that was mad. Jade had a permanently annoyed expression carved into his face that he probably couldn't rid himself of if he tried. Their group had once again grown with the addition of the strange white haired boy, Allen Walker, and the exuberant redhead, Lavi. The Colonel had wondered why the older boy had no last name, or better yet, why he had an eye patch. Jade took a moment to ponder these thoughts now that he had an idea of where the emperor was.

The bespectacled man had interrogated the two newcomers about their presence in the castle, Tear and Natalia watching in awe of the fact that Kanda was completely against helping them out. When she thought about it for another moment though, it really didn't surprise Tear very much at all; the way the man acted toward everyone else should have told her all she needed to know. She supposed that she had been guessing that he would have acted differently with those he was more familiar with.

Now, having learned that Peony was actually within the castle walls, Jade was more annoyed than worried, and a tad confused at the game the ruler was playing this time. Why had he decided to stay the night at an inn when his castle and perfectly good bed were just a short walk away? Jade sighed. It was beyond him what went through that man's head sometimes. It wasn't as if Peony hadn't done similarly bizarre things in the past. He was drawn back to the moment when he heard a familiar voice raising in volume.

"Moyashi, silence that disgusting stomach of yours!" Very loud rumbles could be heard echoing through the halls they walked, declaring the boy's hunger.

The younger Exorcist glared at the man with midnight hair. "BaKanda, shut up. This is all your fault and as such, I don't want to hear a single complaint about my stomach or anything else. If it wasn't for the four of us, you would still be trapped here trying to find a way out." Allen held a single gloved hand to rest on his proclaiming gut as it growled once more. The Colonel himself was rather impressed with the pure agony that this single stomach seemed to be in to create such a sound. He raised an eyebrow.

"Have you not eaten? I was under the impression that you have been staying at an inn in town for a week. Surely they had accommodations in the way of meals?" the man directed at Allen and Lavi, his first words since they told him where Peony was. Lavi frowned for a moment.

"We did, but since we were new to this world, we didn't have any money, hence the cheapest inn we could find. We didn't want to take up jobs, thinking that we'd only be here for a short time, and it would cut into our time to search for you and Kanda. We ended up with limited money and thus, had to ration for food." Jade took all of this in stride. He gave Lavi a calculating stare which the one-eyed redhead returned full force. Jade smirked.

"So where, pray tell, did you get the money for the inn and the food then?" Had the older man looked a few feet over, he would have seen a darkness spread over Allen as a very wide, very creepy smile split his face.

Lavi stared back at the man, determined to not be intimidated by his cold, red eyed stare. "We have our ways." The redhead could instantly tell that this man was both like him and not. He could see that Jade had the ability to hide his heart and face death straight in the face. He had the ability to analyze and not let human thoughts or emotion get in the way. The man before him could use ruthless tactics and strategy, not caring for the lives that were spent to make them a success, and it was clear to him why this green clad soldier was a Colonel in the Malkuth army. This man, this warrior standing before him, would be a formidable demon to face on the battlefield.

But at the same time, Lavi sensed something else in the male; a sort of unsettled feeling. It appeared that all his training and people watching over the years had paid off. Jade was restless, vulnerable, and unsure, and the most interesting part was, he did not know why. But then Lavi glanced over at Kanda who had resumed his fierce argument with Allen. Having been the navy haired man's self declared best friend for years, the redhead knew that there was something special about Kanda. He had some attribute that, for each person he encountered, he could bring out some side of them that was hidden away, some secret place that sometimes even they didn't know existed. After all, that's how it had been for him, and how it was for Allen as well. With no one else was the white haired general not civil, unless it was one of his gambling bouts. He would not be surprised at all to find out that after the other Exorcist's arrival and meeting with Jade, that the man had begun to change.

Jade caught Lavi's knowing smirk and frowned. Why was the boy so amused? "In any case, let us continue the search. I'm sure we can find you something to eat afterward." Jade turned on his heel and continued walking down the hall where the two Exorcists had come from.

They continued walking, Lavi placing his arms behind his head as he stared off into space. Who would have thought that the man that they met at the inn was really the emperor that they were looking for? When they had first heard the name Allen's eyes had been the size of dinner plates. If anything though, it had put the boys' minds at ease; the ruler of a country couldn't really afford to have any scandalous tales floating around.

The pace picked up when the group heard a few voices further down the halls; Jade was almost in a run. Whirling around a corner they caught a large, dark skinned man with a beautiful, young, short haired girl standing in the doorway of a room. The two wore outfits similar to what Allen, Lavi and Kanda wore so Jade could only assume they were acquaintances. A familiar voice drifted out of the room. "All done! Now we can go look for your friend."

The Colonel closed his eyes with a frown, letting out a defeated sigh. He calmly, but quickly, walked over to the two. The girl jumped in surprise at the brunette's approach while the dark skinned one frowned, head tilted toward the Exorcists standing behind him. They were obviously wondering who these new people were. Jade could see the instant the two realized that Kanda was with them.

"Lenalee!" The redhead practically clawed his way over the rest of the group to reach the girl, earning him a shove from Allen and a sharp jab from Mugen. Lenalee turned her violet eyes to Lavi while letting out a soft giggle. Natalia stepped out from the group, giving the new Exorcists a once over before giving an approving nod. Her grip on her bow loosened and she stood more at ease.

"Lavi," the tall man started. "Who are these people? I hear Kanda with them." And the rest of the group understood that the man was blind.

"Lenalee, Marie, who are you talking to?" A voice called out from inside the forgotten room. The blond, tan, finely dressed man known as Peony walked out, a questioning expression on his face. As soon as he spotted Jade, a wide grin split his face in two. "Why Jade, how nice of you to stop by and see me. Have you come to play with my rappigs? I knew they would grow on you."

Lenalee frowned. Did Peony say that they were his rappigs? The girl looked down at the single rappig near her feet that she had been playing with moments ago. It stared back up at her with its big, innocent, brown eyes and was so adorable that she had to pick it up. The creature wriggled excitedly in her arms, waving its snout about to smell all the newcomers.

The Colonel folded one arm across his middle, supporting the other as he rested his face in his hand. "Of course not. And frankly, you don't have the time to be playing with them either. We have something very important to discuss with you, as I mentioned in my letter." The man skillfully ignored the clear "che" that came from behind him. Out of his peripheral vision Jade could see the red haired Exorcist watching all of the exchange as if he would have to replay it later. The brunette heard soft muttering and looked back to see Tear and Allen having their own private conversation, both with smiles on their faces and using dramatic arm motions to express their points. He was pretty sure he didn't want to know what they were talking about.

The cry of "Aww, Jade. You're such a good boy. Come here to daddy. Come give daddy a hug," was repulsive enough to pull the man back from his observations. He heard a giggle from Lenalee as Peony continued. "Aww, don't lick daddy. You're such a good boy!"

Kanda stiffened, drawn out of his mind's wanderings. "What the hell?" He already did not like this man for making them search up and down an entire city only to find him hiding in his own palace, now the man was pissing him off by saying stupid things about him and Jade right to his face. The navy haired man did not question for a moment why this angered him and was quite content to just detest the tan bastard while trying to keep him as far away as possible.

Lavi was recording the entire social transaction with the eye of a Bookman. He was sure that the old man would want to know everything when they all returned. It was due to this that the boy saw Kanda's reaction to what Peony had said. Lavi could tell that the swordsman didn't realize that the emperor was talking about his pet, and also most likely didn't realize that for what was quite possibly the first time in history, his emotions were written all over his face. "No way!" he let out in an unmanly pitch. It was times like these that he absolutely _loved_ being Bookman Jr. His ability to record that moment and read people gave him great blackmail material for later. He could also tell that the long haired beauty, Tear, knew exactly what was going on from the way that she, too, glanced at Kanda's reaction. Lavi caught her eye and gave her a purposeful look. The woman responded, a glint in her eye, before turning back to her conversation with Allen. He would have to find out what she knew.

"Sir, I've asked you before not to name your pets after people you know." Peony responded with a grin as he held the squirming rappig in his arms. "It confuses people." Lavi snickered as a light dusting of red covered Kanda's face. He quickly covered it by facing the wall as if it were the most interesting piece of architecture he had ever encountered. Lenalee, now free of the rappig named Jade, walked over to Kanda, her entire face content.

"Hello Kanda. I'm glad that we found you." The power that only the short haired girl possessed drew a stiff, but calm, expression from the older boy.

"Yeah. You still took your sweet ass time though. Any longer and I beheaded these morons."

Lenalee held a hand above her mouth as she laughed softly, eyes squinting. "But you're glad we made it?" He looked at her and nodded as the true Jade and Natalia watched in wonder at the girl's power.

"Well, I suppose we should all get to a place that we can talk." It appeared that Allen and Tear were done with their conversation. Both of their eyes shone with amusement and mischief, something that Lavi decided he immediately wanted in on.

Peony gently placed Jade back on the ground and let him into the room with his other rappig friends. Shutting the door firmly, he gazed at everyone else as the action caught their attention. "Yes, I believe you are right. After all, I'm a very busy man and don't have time to be playing around. Come on, come on," he waved the group in front of him forward. Jade rolled his eyes before complying, knowing that arguing with the emperor could quite possibly be _the _most pointless thing a person could do. Kanda grunted before following the green clad soldier, Marie, Natalia, Tear, and Allen following close behind. Lavi trailed behind to continue his recordings. He smirked as Peony saddled up beside Lenalee and held out his arm once again to escort her. A watchful emerald eye caught the blush as the girl delicately placed her hand upon his and let him lead her down the intricate palace hall.

~~~~break~~~~

Reever Wilhelm leaned back in his stiff, wooden chair and stretched his arms behind him. He had been working nonstop for as far back as he could remember. This was a sure sign that another cup of coffee was a must. He stood up, basking in the relief his body got from finally changing positions. After another stretch, Reever strolled to the cafeteria to get a cup of coffee. Lenalee's was always the best but now that the girl was gone on a mission for an undisclosed amount of time, they had to make do with the usual.

All the scientists were working their hardest to catch up in their work while Reever tried to get Komui to sign some paperwork, a never ending battle. Their work had only increased after Komui had told them of the new development with the Ark. Doors that led to unknown places; not even Allen knew where they went. And now five of their Exorcists were in one of these doors. Ever since Central had heard, they had made it their mission to learn as much as they could about the doors and what lay beyond. They were on a rampage to find something useful in the fight against the Millennium Earl and had pressured the scientists, as well as free Finders, to find out as much as they could. Reever couldn't imagine where the door might have gone that would require different markings, he only hoped that the Exorcists were all right.

Receiving his coffee, the scientist leaned against a nearby wall to tilt back the mug and enjoy the functional kick start. As the hot liquid flowed down his throat his ears picked up some bickering among the other scientists who had come to the cafeteria on their break. From the sounds of things, he would have to pay another visit to Komui to stop another science experiment gone mad. With a sigh, Reever pushed off the wall and closed his eyes for a moment. He headed for the exit, one thought trailing in the front of his mind: _I hope the Exorcists return soon._

~~~~break~~~~

It was late in the night and Kanda prowled the halls of the palace alone. He had his jaw clenched as he walked, and kept his eyes straight forward. Finally, he spotted the door that he was looking for; it was basically the same as all the other palace doors: large, arched frame in a baby blue and white color scheme, complex patterns crawling their way up the edges. He had asked one of the guards how to get here. As he approached, the navy haired man could hear muffled voices coming from inside the room. He contemplated coming back another time but ultimately decided against it; he had already gone out of his way to come here. With a frown and a light blush from what he was about to do, Kanda rapped sharply on the door. The voices came to a halt before he heard shuffling and footsteps moving toward the door. It slowly opened to reveal a pair of surprised, red eyes meeting his. "Kanda," said Jade, the shock evident in his voice. "What brings you here so late at night?"

The Exorcist was about to remark that it wasn't that late before he remembered how long he had shifted about in his room. He had been restless, trying to get his defenses down enough that he could get some rest. Finally, around one in the morning, he had grudgingly admitted to himself that the only way that he would be able to sleep peacefully was if Jade was also in the room. He did not want to have another event like the one where the two hadn't slept for days on end, and so he had snippily asked a guard how to get to the room of the Colonel. Even so, how was he to tell the man that he wanted to sleep with him without sounding dependant or perverted?

Jade observed as the dark man stood there, eyes trying to seal off thoughts and emotion, and wondered what was going on in his mind. It was becoming increasingly difficult for him to comprehend the man that stood before him, and it was frustrating. It was frustrating because Jade had realized a while ago that he wanted to know everything about the man, to understand him. He wanted to know what made him tick, which, given, was a lot. He wanted to know what Kanda got excited about, what would make him sad, what his favorite hobbies were, meet his family and friends, and a whole lot of other little things that made him up. The fact that this man had an unusually tight rein on his emotions disrupted the Colonel's attempts to figure him out.

Remembering this brought a true smile to Jade's face and a strange, warm feeling to his chest while simultaneously irritating him. "Kanda?" Jade called out once again, and Kanda jerked as if he, too, had fallen out of the moment, a noticeable reddening on his face. The midnight eyes wouldn't meet his; they glanced at everything but the brunette's face.

"I-I can't…You have a couch in there, right?"

Jade blinked. There was no way that he heard what he thought he just heard. Kanda wanted to stay with him. And he had stuttered. That warm feeling in his chest grew into tingles.

"Jade," another voice called out from inside the Colonel's room. "What's going on?"

Kanda stiffened at the voice. His fist clenched and he was suddenly angry. Jade could see on the man's face that he was about to leave, so he opened the door wider to allow the samurai into the room as well as to see who his guest was. "Won't you come in Kanda?"

Reclining on the couch with his legs up was the emperor that Kanda just wanted to cut to pieces. The fact that the man was in Jade's room late at night pissed him off. What kind of ruler was he that he would come to one of his subordinate's rooms at this time knowing full well the implications? The younger man conveniently forgot that the same implications applied to him.

"Ah Jade, was this the one you were telling me about?" Peony smiled as he saw the emotions running through Kanda. It was obvious that this man had a crush on his Colonel, but he was interested in seeing how the man would handle being brushed off by Jade. Many women, and a few men, had shown their interest in the brunette but none had so much as caused a stirring of feeling from him. Peony never had the heart to tell any of them that they likely stood no chance whatsoever; not because there was already some significant other, but because, even as his friend, Peony could honestly say that Jade was far from having the normal ability to care deeply about another person. The only ones who were close to him were his sister, Nephry, their childhood friend, Saphir, who now went by the name of Dist, and the emperor himself. Well, there was once a teacher, but she was long dead now. As one of his most trusted in the military, that trait could work to his advantage, but as one of his closest friends, Peony truly did hope that Jade would discover what it meant to learn to care and love. Even so, somewhere in his mind, he had come to accept that it would never happen and now took some twisted enjoyment out of watching the failed conquests. That was why he smiled when he saw Kanda in turmoil about his presence in Jade's room.

Jade also recognized the storm that was brewing in the long haired man and made a split decision as he turned back to look at his friend. "Sir, might we continue this conversation tomorrow? I seem to be getting rather tired." Peony's eyebrows shot into his hairline. He honestly hadn't been expecting that one. He could tell from the somewhat tense way that the bespectacled man stood that he wanted his ruler to leave before the younger man blew up.

The astonished expression didn't leave Peony until he had left and was on his way back to his own quarters. Never had he thought that he would see the day. It made a bit of sense though; when Jade had been reporting on what he knew of the Exorcists and what had happened while they were all traveling the world, the only name spoken with any sort of emotion was that of the gruff swordsman. Well who knew the stiff Colonel leaned that way? Peony beamed as he walked down the halls, scaring some of the unsuspecting guards. Well if Jade could find someone to care for that would care for him too, he would truly be happy for his friend.

A strong yawn forced its way up and the emperor covered it with a hand, blue eyes watering; a sure sign that he needed to get to bed. With a soft shake of his head in amusement, the blond headed to his rooms for the night.

~~~~break~~~~

As soon as the door was shut behind the blond, Jade faced the tacit man with more eagerness than he'd had about anything in a while. It was strange for him to have so much desire to see someone but he couldn't help it. He hadn't realized that the sudden change in proximity would make him understand so vividly how much the grouch's presence had become a comfortable norm. It was, after all, the first time since he had met Kanda that they were actually apart for any amount of time. As he stared into the shifty eyes of the dark haired man, he hoped that what he saw was an equal desire to be near him too.

"What was it you needed Kanda?" he asked. It wouldn't do for him to be presumptuous. Kanda closed his eyes for a moment, seeming to gather himself before answering as his fists clenched at his side.

"I-I'm staying here for the night," the man stated plainly. Jade observed the light flush that dusted the shorter man's face; probably embarrassment at the statement and the fact that he stuttered, even slightly. The brunette almost took the chance to tease the younger man due to the sudden burst of warmth that filled his chest. It was a highly unusual feeling for the Colonel. Never had the presence of one person been enough to make him feel so strongly, and because of that, Jade decided to leave the poor swordsman be for the night. After all, he did not want to work Kanda up and have him run off. With a smile and a clear nod of agreement, the seasoned warrior led the other man by the hand further into the room, somewhat pleased at his easy compliance.

"I could get you some blankets for the couch if you like, but somehow I get the feeling that you want to sleep in a bed."

Kanda grunted his concurrence before realizing that the older man was surely not going to take the couch for him in his own room, and therefore was implying that they share the bed. Kanda's body tingled at the thought and he fought to squash the feelings that were rising unbidden. "Wait. That's not – I didn't mean…" he began before fading off. Damn his tongue for not cooperating with his brain! Then again, Kanda's brain seemed to be frozen too; perhaps they were in on it together. Jade just smirked at him, the playful look back in his eyes.

"Kanda, as much as listening to you stutter all day is absolutely appealing, I also wouldn't mind hearing what you're trying to say."

A reflexive 'che' left the samurai's lips as he stomped purposefully to the bed, staking his claim on the right side before the older man had a chance to respond. The group of them in Grand Chokmah had decided to stay the night and would meet the emperor in the afternoon. Kanda cringed at the memory of the moment after they all got back together. After deciding to stay, emperor Peony held a feast which the white haired Moyashi had greatly appreciated. Most of the company had stared at the boy when he ate, not quite sure if they were staring in awe or disgust. Not even five minutes in, three quarters of the table was already gone, swallowed into a dark, dark vortex that no one felt brave enough to approach. Even the guards looked a little green at the sight. Everyone at the table kept their hands at their sides just in case the white haired boy thought their fingers were part of the meal. Seeing that they would run out of food, Peony had to call the cook and ask him to start another meal for the rest of them, at which the young boy apologized profusely. After dinner, the group had been given rooms for the night, Marie insisting that he share with Lenalee, and Lavi insisting that he share with Allen. Kanda had finally gotten his own room, as had the rest of the group.

In any case, everyone would be resting up and paying no attention to the fact that a certain emotionally challenged swordsman would be emerging rather early from the Colonel's chambers; at least, that's what Kanda used to comfort himself as he slipped off his shoes and pulled back the bed covers. He placed his hair tie beside the lamp on the nightstand and leaned forward to crawl into the warmth that the blankets would undoubtedly provide.

"You can't expect to really sleep in that. Here, wear this," Jade said as he tossed a pair of nightclothes to Kanda. The exotic man surely hadn't thought this through before he had arrived at the brunette's door, for he still wore one of the outfits he had acquired since his arrival and had none to change into. His eyebrow twitched as he stared at the clothes, silvery blue and soft to the touch.

After a momentary stare down with the clothes, which the clothes won, Kanda slipped off his shirt to exchange for the silky material. Not long after, his bottoms followed. Jade could not help but see the well muscled body that the swordsman held. His torso was made up of finely toned and shapely muscles that rippled as he moved. Similar well developed cords made up the man's lower half and the usually in control Colonel found his breath coming just that small bit faster and his hand twitching, wanting to reach out. Soon the view was sheltered by the blue-silver nightclothes and one section of Jade's mind stood back in awe at the other that wished that Kanda slept in less. He focused once again and changed into his silky green pajamas, only to be drawn back into his mind when he was done.

A thought like that had never occurred to him. Jade stood stunned at himself; the thought that he wanted – actually wanted – to see another person's skin. And in a romantic way at that! Jade's face instantly flushed a rich red at the comprehension of his own mental process. A deep voice broke into his awareness and he saw that Kanda was giving him a strange look, surely to say that maybe this was a bad idea. Jade gave him a small smile and pulled back the covers on his side of the bed, gesturing that Kanda should do the same. Somehow Jade couldn't take the man seriously as he frowned at him, long hair flowing down his back and silvery nightclothes that were only accented by his flushed face.

"This doesn't mean anything. I don't want you to get the wrong idea or anything. I just trust you slightly more than I trust anyone else in this damn palace." The smile never left the brunette's face as he slid his glasses off and placed them on his bedside table.

"Goodnight Kanda," he said, and slipped under the blankets, back toward the samurai. He switched the lamp off and closed his eyes, burrowing deeper into the bed. A minute later he heard a soft grunt and the click of the other lamp switch before a weight joined him and Kanda got settled in for the night. The brunette let go of the small breath he had been holding and finally gave in to slumber.

**A/N: So this chapter started out really excited to be written, then it lost all enthusiasm when I got to the last third and I got writer's block. This is my pitiful excuse for taking so long to post. To be honest, I'm not really satisfied with it since I feel like both Kanda and Jade fell out of character toward the end, but for some reason I couldn't really get them to cooperate with me, but I actually thoroughly enjoyed writing most of it. I would really appreciate any thoughts or comments on this chapter since I'm not so sure about it. Anyway, please drop a review to let me know what you think. I already know the next chapter will be harder to write. There are scenes that I've been postponing. No worries, I'm sure all you guys will like it, it's just gonna suck on my end. Until next time!**


	9. Chapter 8

Kanda frowned as a piece of broken glass sliced his face. Sliding back into his fighting stance, he glared at his opponent, drowning out the loud explosions and other clattering sounds of battle. His tattered shirt draped from his torso in pitiful ribbons as Kanda lamented leaving his Exorcist jacket in the dining hall. The level two akuma floated before him, a wild grin splitting its face. Kanda smirked; it thought it had a chance. As Mugen came down in a decisive slash, Kanda glanced out of the side of his eye to catch Lenalee in his peripherals. She was guiding the palace staff out a side exit so that they wouldn't get caught up in the battle. Her Crimson Boots surrounded her feet in preparation for any assault that the dozens of surrounding akuma might make.

Glancing around, Kanda found what he was searching for: a spiky haired girl who sat on the shoulder of another level two. She rested a dark hand on her knee, legs crossed, and Kanda 'che-d' at the fact that she was just watching the battle. Darting around the rubble and what remained of the castle foyer, the swordsman tried to force his way toward Road. Dust marred his vision but Kanda could still hear the efforts of the white haired general in his fight with Tyki. In various locations were the remnants of the group visiting the palace, each guarding and protecting what they could while trying to evacuate.

Kanda rushed the level two from the side in a slash and merely grunted as the childlike girl easily dodged the attack, making the back flip look as though she were dancing. She landed amidst the dust of the once akuma and fallen pillars with a grin on her face, a playful look in her eye.

"It's you," she stated, laughter in her voice. "You, the pitiful Exorcist that ruined our plans." A dark look overcame Road's face and her golden eyes glittered in anger. "You are the one who killed a part of my family!" And with that, Road summoned deadly candles to surround her, each with a pointed end and ready to do her bidding. She aimed them at Kanda and threw them in quick succession. The man nimbly maneuvered his sword to block the candles but grunted as one grazed his outer thigh and another the side of his neck. Hearing a large explosion, Kanda gave a fleeting look to the rest of the battlefield that the palace had become. He saw a large crater in the floor with an akuma hovering above it. To the side cowered the relieved palace staff, safely tucked under Anise's large stuffed animal. Kanda hardly had the time to contemplate the size of the doll or its use in battle as he faced his enemy once again.

A candle embedded itself in his left arm in consequence of his inattention. The long haired man flinched at the impact before darting forward to strike at the Noah. He grunted once more as he felt his sword cut air and Road danced further away again. "You seem to be distracted by these useless people. What was your name again? Kanda, was it? I don't understand why you care about them." Road summoned more of her candles to surround her as she bent over to wipe a scuff mark off of her shoes. "Humans are so useless. Once we free the world of them and only us chosen remain, things will be much better." She swiped at some dirt on the sides of her striped stockings and stood up to brush off her skirt. "We really do need to get rid of them all."

Kanda glared as he contemplated how to land a hit on her. He knew that even if he did, she would remain unhurt in her dream world. The best he could do was to keep her busy while everyone else cleared up the rest of the akuma. A blast projected rocks and dirt at the female Noah, as well as the dust that looked to be an akuma victim, and she shook her head and brushed it all off her shirt. When she was done, her eyes looked up and caught Kanda's. "I suppose we can always start now. We can clear out these worthless humans that you seem so intent on protecting."

With a quick outstretch of her arm, Road's candles flew at him. Kanda frowned. Hadn't she said that she was going to kill the people he was protecting? A rundown look at the palace remains showed few people lingering, and the ones who hadn't made it yet were being ushered out by Lenalee and Lavi. Kanda dodged the few deadly candles whose path he was in before her heard their sound of impact. A gruff shout of pain was followed by a more familiar voice. "Emperor, are you okay? We need to move quickly!"

Not able to help himself, Kanda whirled. Behind him was Jade as he tried to drag the Malkuth emperor along toward Lenalee. Peony had one candle embedded in his right shoulder and blood swelled from the wound as he stumbled along. Kanda moved to place himself between the two; this was his match. He was not about to let Road, or any other Noah for that matter, hurt Jade. Road chuckled at his actions. "So you really do care about these people? Then let's see what extent you are willing to go for them."

And with that, the largest swarm of candles yet flew at the man that Kanda finally admitted to himself that he cared about.

~~~~break~~~~

A soft rumbling of voices roused Kanda from his sleep. He slowly opened his eyes and took in the room around him before trying to recall what had happened. Though he didn't recognize it, the place he was in could be nothing other than some sort of medical facility. He took a deep breath and did a thorough inventory on any wounds on his body. There were none. As Kanda sat up in the bed he was in, he heard the soft voices around him come to a stop. His midnight eyes instantly fell on Jade and Tear as they both looked at him with shock and relief in their eyes. Tear turned to a person standing near the doorway and muttered something, sending him off. When no one said anything else, Kanda swung his legs over the edge of the bed, noticing a change in his pants, and moved to stand. Tear lunged at him, pressing him gently but urgently back onto the bed.

"Kanda, we're so glad to see that you're awake but you really can't afford to be moving around that much. You had some heavy injuries." Kanda glared at the woman. She might be trying to help but the swordsman had only one goal and that was to understand the emotion that he saw running through Jade's eyes right then. The Colonel almost looked stunned, but Kanda knew that couldn't be the case; the man was the most smooth and unaffected of them all. He just took things in stride and kept going. So surely there couldn't be something like elation and guilt showing through his crimson pools.

Kanda pushed Tears arms aside as he moved to stand once again. Glancing down, he saw that some lightly stained bandages covering the entire front of his body were likely what was worrying her. With a 'che', he began to unwind them. He also noticed that there were some bandages on his legs too; he must have been hurt worse than he thought. From looking at her, Kanda could tell that the woman was about to shove him back into the bed. "I'm fine," he stated, his voice gruff from sleep. Slowly, Kanda's alabaster skin showed through completely unblemished. Tear let out a squeak of surprise at the unscarred skin and the swordsman caught Jade's eyes widening.

"But -! How?"

"I'm a fast healer." Tear stood dumbfounded. Kanda took his chance to walk past Jade grabbing his hand on the way. He pushed open the door to find a surprised Lenalee and Marie standing before him.

"Kanda!" the girl yelled excitedly. He firmly, but gently, pushed her aside.

"Later." And with that the newly healed swordsman, dragging Jade, swept gracefully from the room and down the hall. He had no idea what building he was in, much less where he was going, but it didn't matter. All that mattered was the fact that Kanda had realized something. Something that had been growing within him all along and he finally had the chance to confront it personally. He didn't offer himself up as a skewer for just anyone. If knowing this, having this feeling, could cause him to do something so detrimental in battle, he needed it cleared up before things progressed any further down a road that he had no control over.

Jade's hand felt warm in Kanda's, the brunette's skin tougher than he expected, but somehow, less calloused. The Colonel's palm was sweaty and the man seemed nervous as he tailed a mane of midnight hair down the hall. Without turning around, Kanda tightened his grip on the hand he held. It tightened around his n return. As they walked briskly, he saw rooms with other patients as well as nurses traversing the corridor. The only assumption to make was that he had been taken to a hospital after the battle.

Finally, Kanda spotted an empty, single room and slowed to let a nurse walk by before quietly letting them in. He let go of the older man's hand so he could lock the door before turning to face him. It seemed to Kanda that Jade had not completely overcome what had silenced him when he woke from his healing. Now that he faced the man though, his deep blue pools flitted everywhere but to the brunette. Kanda suddenly didn't know how to approach the Colonel and stumbled over what to say, his eyes having settled on the heart monitor above the bed that rested behind the man. After a few minutes of silence, Jade finally spoke.

"Was there a reason for this Kanda?" the long haired man winced. He was the one who had decided that he wanted to have this talk to clear things up and now he was freezing. He was an Exorcist for goodness sake! There should be next to nothing that he was afraid of. He clenched his teeth before answering.

"I need to know where you stand right now. What do you think of me?" Jade was stunned. He certainly hadn't expected _this_ to be the reason that the man had pulled him off. He wasn't sure how to respond. Ever since the day of the battle at the emperor's palace, he had been in turmoil. As he stood before the swordsman, Jade could remember the seeing the man fall that day and it twisted a part inside of him with a guilt that he had never known.

_There were battles going on all around the two men. Jade gave each of them only enough attention to avoid them as he did his best to guide the emperor out of the palace. They had been making their way through the rubble that littered the ground and skirting around Kanda's battle with a little girl when Jade heard Peony stumble and grunt. He turned behind him and saw that his ruler had rolled his ankle on a piece of broken stone and in the process, gained a stab wound from a candle to the shoulder. He wasn't even sure how a candle could be used as a weapon like that or where it came from. All he knew was that he had to get the blonde man out of there before any other objects could make his body a home. Making sure to keep an eye on the battle, Jade knelt at the side of his charge. _

"_Emperor, are you okay? We need to move quickly!" After seeing that it would be better to leave the weapon in until they had something to bind it with, the red eyed man concentrated on what was happening in the battle before him. He couldn't afford to make a similar mistake with the emperor's life. Realizing that the two were engaged in some sort of brief conversation, the brunette used his chance to pull one of Peony's arms over his shoulder and help support him on their trek out of the building. Peony needed more aid than Jade had realized and he could hear the blonde's winces of pain broken up with light panting. Perhaps his ankle was hurt more badly than he first thought. _

_Glancing back at the battles around him, Jade saw that Kanda had placed himself between them and the line of fire from the young girl named Road. He had seen the midnight haired man fighting the many akuma that had invaded and felt confident that with him there, they would be protected from harm from the girl. He had to fight the sudden urge to go help the man who guarded their backs, if only so that he could be there. Jade just focused on moving forward, frowning at the very thought of putting himself in danger for an impulsive reason like that. He was not an impulsive person. As the doorway that Lenalee flitted around got nearer, there was an amused chuckle from behind them. This was followed by the one of the most sickening sounds Jade could ever recall hearing; He could decipher the sound of multiple impact wounds as well as the splash of a large amount of liquid hitting the marble floors, made all the worse because he knew the only person it could be. Jade's chest got tight and his fingers trembled as he stopped his and Peony's forward motion to look back. _

_His crimson eyes met deep navy waters as Kanda turned halfway around to meet his gaze. Jade could see his entire anterior half was skewered with the striped candles, blood spreading from each wound and forming a large and distinct puddle at his feet. Jade's eyes widened in horror at the sight and even more so when he saw the intent that was still in the young girl's face. Her eyes glimmered vengefully and her grin went manic before she used another dozen candles to pierce Kanda's now revealed right backside. The swordsman stumbled forward a few steps, panting and hunched over just to keep upright. One of the candles had sliced off his hair tie and now ribbons of inky blue hair draped around him like a waterfall. Kanda coughed and blood spurted out of his mouth, a trail dribbling down his chin. As Jade watched, even as he stood awestruck, he couldn't help seeing the man as beautiful; The contrast of his hair on his skin as the color drained from his cheeks, the crimson red that now flavored his lips, and the flawless skin that was now marred with puncture wounds and slashes. _

_A cry snapped Jade out of his momentary daze._

"_Kanda!" A flash of green streaked the air above him and Jade saw Lenalee land at Kanda's side, an extremely worried expression on her face. Her violet eyes glared at the deadly girl who stood calmly a short distance from her. "I won't forgive you!"_

_Road just twirled on the spot pulling a sucker from nowhere and placing it in her mouth. She rocked back on her heels before answering, a glazed look in her eyes. "I didn't ask for, nor do I need, your forgiveness. If anything, you need mine if any of you want to live in our perfect world. Besides, this was only a little payback for what he did to Skin." _

_In a flash the girl was blasted back into a wall, her small form leaving an expansive crater as it shattered a wall. Lenalee stood, body still poised from her kick with a leg bent in the air. Her shoulder length hair blew around her from the strong wind that she had caused. Lenalee launched from where she stood, eyes full of steely determination to rip apart the person who hurt her friends. Jade's eyes refocused when he heard the sound of Kanda's body finally giving out completely and falling to the ground in a crumpled heap. The brunette's lip trembled as his wide eyes took in the form of the one that he had started to care for. If only he hadn't been so useless against the akuma, this wouldn't have happened. _

"_Go to him," a voice said to him softly. Jade faced his long time friend and sovereign. The man stood back a few steps away from him, a light pallor added to his skin but a smile on his face. Frustrated frown marks wrinkled the Colonel's forehead as his heart fought frantically with his duty. He honestly wanted to rush over and make sure that Kanda was taken to get immediate medical attention; He had just been stabbed multiple times after all. But it was his duty to Peony that he get him safely out of danger to a place where he couldn't be harmed. He appreciated what the man was trying to do for him, but Jade hardened his heart, knowing that this moment would scar it forever, and he shook his head as he reached out once more for the arm of his emperor. _

_The arm pulled away._

"_Jade, I don't think I should have to order you to do this, but I will if I have to. Go. Go take care of that warrior and make sure he lives. Most of the creatures have been rid of. I can make it the rest of the way myself." Jade frowned as his thoughts raced. The door that Lenalee had been guarding was not very far from their current position. It was perfectly feasible for his friend to make it. Even so, he would be abandoning his post…_

_Jade dropped quickly to one knee before crossing his arm over his chest, head bent. "Thank you Emperor," he said sincerely before rising and swiftly running to Kanda's side. Instantly Jade caught sight of the depth of the numerous puncture wounds. Many of the candles were more than halfway buried in the exotic man's body. This helped stifle some of the blood leaking out of the man but there was still a rather large amount of the warm, red liquid pooling around them, the quantity only growing by the second. With this much blood loss, Kanda's face was already deathly pale. Jade truly feared that the man wouldn't make it, even if they managed to get him immediate care._

_Jade lifted the man up, careful to avoid lodging any of the candles further. He ended up pulling Kanda's left arm around his neck and half dragging the unconscious man toward the exit where Peony already stood waiting. He tried to ignore the clear trail of blood that shadowed their path to the door and what it meant. Jade did his best to avert the large explosions that still surrounded them and as he neared the door, he caught sight of both Marie and Lavi holding back another small horde of akuma. He knew that somewhere else Allen stood alone fighting the Noah character named Tyki Mikk. None of this mattered. He listened to the shallow breaths beside him and quickened his pace._

~~~~break~~~~

"Oi, I asked you a question."

The impatient tone pulled Jade out of his thoughts. He stared into dark blue eyes that were squinted in annoyance and realized that he had been uncharacteristically spacey.

"My apologies, Kanda. I wasn't expecting a question like that when only a moment ago, we all thought you weren't going to make it." Kanda scoffed at him.

"There's no way that I would die like that. Now answer me." He was like a dog with a bone. Jade wondered how the swordsman could just shrug off the kind of wounds he had just recovered from. He said it like it was a daily occurrence and it annoyed the Colonel that he could feel so invincible, especially when he had people worrying over him, namely him. Jade crossed his arms.

"You know Kanda, you shouldn't say things like that so frivolously. There have been many people worried over you for the past two days. I still can't quite believe that you made a full recovery in such a short time." Jade had seen the extent of the original wounds, having been the one to carry him, and could only think the current event nothing short of a miracle. For a moment the shorter man's eyes widened in surprise.

"I was out for two days? I must have been badly hurt." Jade just stared at him. How could he not have realized how close he came to death's doorstep? "Doesn't matter. Are you going to answer me or not?"

A crease made itself at home on Jade's brow as he stared at the overconfident man in front of him. Anger rose to the forefront of his emotions as the brunette thought about how concerned he'd been about Kanda. It was already an uncharacteristic act on his part, a strange series of emotions that he had been willing to approach for this foreign man that had entered his life. But the beautiful creature with the midnight hair stood before him completely disregarding all of this, a look of wary vulnerability and slight irritation set in his eyes. Jade was too frustrated to even wonder at the vulnerability he saw right now; probably the fact that he had even been wounded. He was _invincible_ after all.

Kanda seemed to notice that there was a shift in Jade's emotions, sensing the very angry aura radiating from the man; he could swear there was a vein popping on his forehead. The Colonel crossed one arm in front of his body, using it to support the one that adjusted his glasses. He looked into the deep blue orbs head on.

"Kanda, to be perfectly honest, I don't know if I can stand to be around you right now," the man spoke in a frightfully quiet and stable voice. "You are not unbeatable, nor are you invincible, a fact that seems to have eluded you. I try to only put up with idiots when absolutely necessary, and before now, I hadn't considered you in that category. Now, superb healing powers or not, you need rest, so I recommend that you get back to your bed." Jade turned his back to Kanda, one hand reaching for the door handle. He paused briefly. "Also, it was rude of you to ignore Lenalee and Marie as we left. They have also been worried about you and only wanted to make sure that you were okay. You should brush up on your manners as well." With that Jade swept from the room, shutting the door firmly behind him.

Kanda stared at the spot where the slightly rumpled man had stood only a moment ago. He wasn't sure what had gone wrong. He had been intent on getting a response out of the man on how he felt. Then again, maybe the very fact that he noticed the man's unusually unkempt appearance was clue enough. There had been plenty of unexplained feelings in the bespectacled man's eyes before they left his hospital room, so something had happened in between to anger the man. The problem was he didn't know what it was. Kanda figured that he should at least get out of the unoccupied room and headed for the door.

Leaving the room behind, Kanda wandered the unfamiliar halls for a while before finding his way back to his room. Lenalee sat in the chair that was set up beside the bed looking rather lost in thought. When she heard his footsteps she looked up, her face transforming into one of joy.

"Kanda!" She stood up quickly and walked to him, stopping well within his personal bubble, but then again, Lenalee was probably the only person who could do that without him killing them. "I'm glad that you're alright." He grunted his acknowledgement and nodded his head slightly. His eyes grazed the room, searching. Catching his wandering eyes, the younger girl smiled. "Marie went for a walk. He figured you needed a minute or two. I'm sure that he heard you on your way back and is already coming."

Kanda went to the bed and perched on the edge, eying the girl standing before him. He couldn't explain why Jade had suddenly gotten angry with him; even he could admit that he wasn't the best when it came to emotions and understanding people. Maybe he should ask Lenalee? She had that women's intuition gibberish that he'd heard of. And after all, there was no one else he could really ask. If even a hint of this got to Lavi, the redhead would hold it over him until forever and a day, and there was no way in hell that the stupid Moyashi was going to find out. Then again, maybe he should wait it out and try to talk to Jade again when he had calmed down. Kanda sighed. He envisioned future engagements, should he actually find himself with the Colonel for long, full of teasing and frustration, misunderstandings and possessiveness. His life had just gotten infinitely more complicated and he wondered what was so appealing about these situations that other people would willingly approach them for the rest of their lives.

"Are you alright Kanda?" Lenalee's melodic voice questioned. The swordsman was brought out of his thoughts and realized he had been staring off into space for a few minutes, and before he could answer, Marie walked into the room.

"Kanda," he sighed, relieved. "I hope I'm not interrupting. You sound well."

"Che. I don't know why everyone is getting worried. You already know that I heal at an accelerated rate. I wouldn't have died from something like this." Lenalee only watched him silently as she slid back into the chair beside his bed.

"Kanda, it doesn't always have to do with that. Whether or not you can heal quickly, it must have still hurt to gain those wounds. We're glad to know that you are no longer in pain or injured. And you know what it's like: if any of our other comrades had wounds like that, it would have likely ended in death. I think it's still fair that we worry over you." Kanda stared at the girl with widened eyes. Something in her words struck him.

"Did you tell Jade or anyone else from this world about my healing abilities?" he asked softly. Shoulder length hair shifted from side to side as the girl shook her head no.

"It wasn't my place to say. That and we wouldn't have been able to explain had they begun asking questions about it." So Jade wouldn't have known that Kanda would recover. He still thought the man was being an idiot, but at least he understood it now. Kanda sighed.

"Not to rush you or anything," Marie started, facing Kanda. "But it was decided while you were sleeping that as soon as you were okay, we needed to head back to that city surrounded by the miasma. Once the treaty is officially signed, both parties need to discuss what will happen next, especially with the new threat of the akuma to their world."

Lenalee slapped her hands onto her knees and stood up, cheer once again shining from her face. "Well you could use a shower then Kanda. We'll wait here and I'll get you some new clothes." With that and a gentle shove, the swordsman found himself asking the first nurse he came across for directions to the nearest shower.

~~~~break~~~~

Jade sighed mentally as he continued to repack the necessities for their never ending journey into the pack on his bed. He had already replenished any items that they had run low on while making their way from the Qliphoth, to Kimlasca, to Malkuth. He frowned as he zipped up the bag and slowly, almost meticulously, sat himself on his bed beside it. He had been acting strange lately and it was beginning to unnerve him. His life had become rattled in a way that it never had before. Sudden attacks in the wild, he could handle. Commanding in a war, he could handle. Even putting up with the biggest brat of a duke's son, he could handle. But Kanda…Kanda, he could not handle. Jade almost felt himself losing in a fight against his own body whenever something came to do with the other man.

In self-irritation the brunette looked around his chambers again to make sure there was nothing he was forgetting, as well as in an attempt to distract himself. Satisfied, he hefted his bag and placed it near the door. The last thing on his checklist, while he had the time, was a diagnosis of how far along he was at breaking the fon slot. The stupid device that Dist had used on him was by no means sealing his power completely, but it did cause Jade to use more effort in the more mundane battles that the rest of the group found to be a challenge. Not that this was a bad thing; Jade was not one to ignore the basic training that every good soldier needed to maintain and was actually using this chance to keep on his toes. Even so, he smirked mentally at how far along he was at breaking it. He wondered what a battle might be like with Kanda once he had broken through it all the way. So far he hadn't been able to get an accurate gauge of the man's strength, having only seen him fight twice, and short battles at that.

Jade's hand fisted tightly at his side. Somehow his thoughts had returned to the enigma of a man. It seemed to be all he could think about lately, in one way or another. And whenever he saw Kanda, there was a strangely abnormal rhythm in his heart. His chest tightened and his body would start to heat up. The red-eyed man wasn't sure what any of it meant. A knock at his door startled him out of the contemplative silence he had fallen into again.

"Jade, we're loading up the Albiore. Everyone's almost ready." Long, flowing, brown hair peeked through the small opening in his door. Tear paused for a moment and looked Jade up and down, analyzing him. "Are you okay?" she asked in a worried tone. Jade let out a small breath that he hadn't known he was holding. As he did, his body released all the tension that had slowly been building.

"Not to worry Tear. I'll be there momentarily." She stared at him a minute longer before nodding and closing the door as she left. He composed himself, forcing everything out of his mind. Jade grabbed his bag by the door and walked out of his rooms in the palace. It was going to be a long journey.

~~~~break~~~~

**A/N: So there is no excuse. None at all. This took much longer to get out than I originally planned, and despite that, all that I wanted to fit into this chapter didn't quite make it. I apologize because I made a mention of something that Azab seemed excited about but that's going to have to wait until the next chapter. I'm not sure that I even accomplished what I set out to do in this chap but I hope it made sense to everyone and that you liked it! I also decided that this story is going to omit the whole Hod bit. The story will drag on forever if I don't, and I would hate to put out chapters that aren't heartfelt and inspired. Just a heads-up so it doesn't surprise anyone. **


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